Take it Back
by acaudill0068
Summary: Rachel's dreams of Broadway and getting out of Lima are shattered after one night.  One stupid, drunken night that no matter how hard she prays won't disappear.  Inspired by 'Get it Right'.  Futurefic and slightly AU.  Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: First off, I usually hate fics where Rachel is preggers because that just seems so not Rachel Berry to get pregnant in high school – but, my friends have broke me down and I've start a fic where Rachel is indeed pregnant. I wasn't going to do it but after I heard Lea's amazing song 'Get it Right' two weeks ago this little plot bunny has been rooted in my head. It won't leave so I finally caved and wrote this down. I'm not sure how long this fic will last but I'm really, really hoping you guys like it. Like I said, I don't particularly like fics that have Rachel knocked up but I'm going to try to write this as in character as possible. Reviews are lovely so let me know what you guys think so I know if I should continue this.

This fic is inspired by 'Get it Right' and Rachel will sing that song in this fic… I'm just not sure when but it will probably be after it airs in the actual show.

* * *

"We're senior's, Rachel. This is your last year at McKinley and my last year at Dalton. We need to make the most of it; we have to _make_ Lima remember us." Kurt told her.

"Going to one stupid Halloween party at Santana Lopez's house is not going to make anybody remember us." Rachel rolled her eyes. "And even if I do cave and let you drag me to this party, I am not wearing that." She pointed to the costume Kurt had laid out of her bed.

Kurt sighed. "Halloween is the one day of the day that girls can dress up in trampy outfits and act like huge whores without being labeled a slut."

"Why can't we just stay here and watch 'Phantom'? It sounds like a much better way to spend the night." She suggested.

"Fine, you stay here and be a total party pooper." Kurt waved her off. "But I'm going to that party. I haven't done anything fun since Blaine left for college over the summer and I'm determined to find some way to have fun without him."

"Well, why do I have to dress up and you get to go in your normal clothes?" She whined.

"This_ is_ my costume." Kurt frowned at her.

"Oh…" Rachel pursed her lips, trying not to laugh.

"Just go change." He grabbed the clothes from Rachel's bed and pushed her towards the bathroom.

"Are you sure I'm even invited to this party?" Rachel asked as she slipped the dress over her head. "I know that Santana and I have pushed our differences aside for the sake of Glee club but we're not exactly friends, Kurt."

"She insisted that you come." He assured her. "Santana has really mellowed out after Miss Holliday got her and Brittany back together. It's going to be fun, Rachel."

"I guess so." Even through the door Kurt could hear her sigh heavily.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Are _they_ going to be there?" She asked pulling the bathroom door open and moving to find some shoes to match her outfit.

"They were invited." Kurt nodded, knowing by 'they' Rachel meant Finn and Quinn.

"I told you this was going to be a bad idea." Rachel crossed her arms. "Maybe I should just stay home."

"You're already changed. You're going." Kurt said firmly. Rachel racked her brain for a good excuse but came up empty. "He broke up with me less than a month ago, Kurt. How can I go to this party and pretend like I'm okay with him sucking face with Quinn?"

Kurt frowned slightly. "I told you it was a bad idea getting back with Finn after everything that happened last year."

"I thought this time would be different."

"It was different." Kurt assured this. "This time he wasn't a sneaky jerk. This time he was jerk straight to your face. That should make it so much easier to hate him."

Rachel sighed. "If I really have to go to this party we might as well get it over with." She checked her reflection in the mirror. "I really hate this costume by the way."

"It's sexy, Rachel." He assured her as they made their way out of her room and down the stairs. "For some reason guys like girls that dress up as naughty nurses."

"I feel stupid." She rolled her eyes. "I don't understand why this is so… appealing to boys. It doesn't even make any sense. Boys are so stupid." She grumbled the last part.

"You're preaching to the choir, Sister." Kurt laughed.

So Rachel let Kurt take her to this party even though she knew it was a bad idea. As soon as they got inside Kurt vanished and a red plastic cup was shoved into Rachel's hand by Santana.

"Don't worry; I poured it myself." The Latina girl yelled over the loud music before dancing back over to her girlfriend, Brittany.

Rachel sighed, looking around at the familiar students, and sipped on the drink in her hand. It was just beer so she shouldn't get too buzzed. Everything's going pretty well until Rachel spots Finn in the corner with Quinn. Finn's dressed up as Frankenstein and Quinn as his bride. Rachel rolled her eyes at the stupidity and stumbled towards the kitchen for a refill of her drink.

Santana and Brittany get her to dance for a little bit and they compliment her on her choice of costume. Rachel keeps looking back towards that corner where Finn and Quinn are but as the night goes on it keeps getting blurrier and blurrier the more drinks she has.

Her heads starting to pound from the loud music and she's pretty sure she's kind of drunk by now so when the warm, calloused hand takes hers and leads her up the stairs to an empty bedroom away from the crowd she's grateful. She stumbles into the room and hears the door click shut. The hand is on her again but this time it's tracing lazy circles on her hip. She looks up to meet hazel eyes and then she's smiling against a pair of familiar lips.

* * *

"Rachel Berry." A woman's voice pulled her away from the memory and Rachel tenses when she remembers where she is. She hears her name again and when her hands touch her still flat stomach she wishes she could go back to that night and stop everything that had happened. If it hadn't been for her missed period and those two pink lines that had shown up on that white stick that night could have been completely forgotten.

She looks around the busy waiting room. She was too young to be here. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be in this situation. She heard the nurse call her name once again and reluctantly got up to walk towards the door that led to the exam rooms.

"Rachel Berry?" The nurse asks.

"Yes." Rachel nodded.

"Is the father here?" The nurse questions and Rachel looks around the waiting room one last time.

Rachel smiled sadly at the nurse. "He must just be late."

The nurse just nodded and led Rachel down a long hallway. Rachel is about to step into a small, all-white uncomfortable looking room when she hears a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Wait! I'm here. Sorry I'm late." The voice came from the waiting room.

"Noah." Rachel whispers when she turns to find Noah Puckerman rushing up to her.

* * *

A/N: This first chapter might be a little confusing. If you didn't realize it, the majority of this was a flashback of sorts. I tried to make that clear but if you were confused and got lost I am so sorry.

Review


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: Here is the second chapter. I will be posting chapter 3 on Saturday and from then on I should be posting once weekly. Reviews make me happy so let me know what you guys think.

* * *

"_Wait! I'm here. Sorry I'm late." The voice came from the waiting room._

"_Noah." Rachel whispers when she turns to find Noah Puckerman rushing up to her. _

"The father?" The nurse asked and Rachel nodded. The nurse shakes her head disapprovingly and Rachel decides that it's because of the mohawk. After getting all of the information from Rachel that she would need the nurse told them to just sit tight and that the doctor would be in any second.

"I won't be late next time." Puck said once they were alone. Rachel just nods again so he goes on. "Are you even going to look at me, Rach?"

"What do you want me to say, Noah? That I'm happy we here? That I'm happy we're going to be parents in seven months? This sucks! This whole thing just_ sucks_. Can you please just sit there quietly so that maybe this entire thing isn't completely unbearable?" She snapped at him.

Puck sighed and ran his hand over his mohawk, gripping the back of his neck tightly. "I hate fighting with you." He mumbled.

"Who's fighting?" Rachel asked and looked over at him. "I told you that you didn't have to be here." She whispered. "I don't even want you here."

Puck scooted the chair he's sitting in closer to Rachel, who is sitting on the exam table. "I know you don't. Believe me, you've told me enough times. I get it, Rachel, you hate me but I'm not going anywhere."

"Not yet anyway." She looked back at the spot on the wall she stared at the last time she had to come to one of these appointments. She's only been in here one other time but she already hates this room. It's cold and white and uncomfortable. She hates it here. She hates this whole situation.

Dr. Turley walked in then and Puck didn't have a chance to say anything else. "Hi." Dr. Turley smiled at Rachel. "So, Rachel, it looks like this is your second appointment and the last time you came you were…" She checked the chart.

"Five weeks." Rachel finished. "I'm eight weeks along now."

"Right." Dr. Turley smiled warmly and then she noticed Puck. "Hello, you weren't at the last appointment. You must be the father."

"Noah Puckerman." Puck shook her hand.

"I have a son about your age." Dr. Turley said. "You're seventeen, right?"

"Yea." Puck nodded and glanced at Rachel.

"I know what you're thinking." Rachel said quietly. "How could we be so stupid?"

"Actually, I was thinking that if my son was in this situation that I would hope he would make the decision as Noah and help the girl out." Dr. Turley raised her eyebrows. "I don't judge you, Rachel. I was younger than you when I had my first child. I know exactly what you're going through."

Rachel nodded and clasped her hands together in her lap. "Can we just get this over with? I really don't like being here."

"Of course." Dr. Turley glanced at Puck.

Dr. Turley asked several questions but the appointment was over pretty quick. As she got up to gather her things up she glanced at Rachel again. "Noah, would you mind waiting out in the waiting room for a few minutes? I just want to talk to Rachel for a few minutes. It won't take long."

"Sure." Puck left the room quietly and Rachel avoided Dr. Turley's eyes.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" Dr. Turley asked.

Rachel shook her head as the tears pooled in eyes. "No."

Dr. Turley smiled softly. "I was fifteen when I found out I was pregnant. There was this amazing guy. He was a senior and I was a freshman. I never thought he'd even give me a second glance so when he did I was ecstatic. I knew I shouldn't have done it but after hanging out with him for two months I decided to have sex with him. I got pregnant and once I told him about it, he wasn't as great as I thought he was. He didn't want anything to do with me or the baby. He left for college and Iwas left with a child to raise alone. Do I regret it? Of course not. I love my son more than anything but I do wish I had waited until I was older. I didn't have anyone to help me. My parents disowned me for getting pregnant so young so I had to live with my Aunt and Uncle. It was hard but I made it."

"What are you trying to say?" Rachel asked quietly.

"I can see that you don't want to be in this situation and I don't blame you. I never wanted to be a teen mom either. The difference is that Noah is here. He wants to help. He wants to be part of this babies life. I don't know if you're going to keep the baby or put him up for adoption but either way… I think you should let Noah be in on that decision. I don't know how many girls I have seen come through this office in the exact same position that you're in. I've delivered six babies to teen moms just this month. But I rarely see a father in that mix. What I'm saying, Rachel, is that you are going to need help. You are going to need someone to talk to. I'm here for you whenever and it looks to me like Noah is too."

Rachel nodded and slid off of the exam table. "Thank you, Dr. Turley."

Puck was waiting outside of the doctors office when Rachel walked out. "You okay?" He asked seeing the dried tears of her cheeks.

"I'm fine." She assured him.

"When is the next appointment?" He asked.

"Dr. Turley said that if I didn't have any problems I don't have to come back in until I'm twenty weeks. That's about three months from now. I set up my appointment for then. I'll be getting another ultrasound and usually they can tell if it's a boy or girl. I'd love for you come if you wanted." Rachel met his gaze.

A smile, a true genuine smile, slapped across his face and he nodded. "I wouldn't miss it, Rach."

"Walk me to my car?" She asked.

"Yea." They walked across the parking lot slowly and when they reached her car he shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"About what you said in the office." Rachel sighed. "I don't hate you, Noah; at least I don't think I do. I just don't know what to do. I never expected me to be in this kind of predicament and now that I am I don't know what's going to happen and that scares me. I'm sorry if I take it out of you sometimes."

"You can scream at me all day long if it means you'll keep letting me be a part of this." He told her and she smiled softly.

"It's the hormones." Rachel wiped the tears away that had escaped from her eyes. "That's what Dr. Turley told me. My hormones are out of whack so I'm way too emotional." Rachel looked around at the crowded parking lot and then up at the blue sky. "You haven't told anyone have you?"

"Not a soul." He shook his head. "Just like you asked."

"Good." She nodded. "I don't want anyone to know."

"Have you told your dads?" He asked.

"Not yet. I know that they know something's going on but I haven't had the courage to tell them. I'm afraid they're going to hate me."

"I haven't told my mom either." He said. "I figured you should probably tell your dads' before my mom finds out. I know she's going to make a big deal out of it. I'm pretty sure she thought I was the worst son in the world after she found out about Quinn. I don't even want to think about how she's going to take this one."

"We could tell them together." Rachel suggested.

Puck nodded. "Whatever you decide, Rachel. All of this… it's up to you. I'm just glad you actually told me about it."

"It's your baby too, Noah. You deserved to know." She shrugged. "I would never keep something like this from you."

"Thanks, B." He smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "You should get home before someone sees us here."

"Bye, Noah." Rachel slid into the front seat of her car. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Rachel gripped her steering wheel tightly after Puck had walked off. Her hands drifted down to her stomach. "You ready for this, baby? Everyone's going to be finding out about you soon. You're going to be the talk of the town." She let out a shaky breath and bit back the tears. "I just hope you're ready for this because I know I'm not."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: This story is getting a lot bigger response than I thought it was going to. I didn't get many reviews but I got a ton of alerts so thank you to everyone that reviewed and added this to your alert list or favorites. I wasn't sure how well this idea was going to go over with some of my readers but I'm glad you are liking it so far.

* * *

Rachel clutched her binder tighter to her body as she walked through the halls of McKinley the next morning. Even though she knew that she wasn't showing and there was no way anybody could see she was with child she still felt like she needed to hide her stomach. She wasn't sure if she was doing it to protect her or the little baby that was growing inside of her. Probably both. The school day was almost over and she only had Glee practice before she could go home and take a long nap.

For the first time Rachel walked into the choir room without saying anything and just sat down in her usual seat in the front row. Mercedes was already there, sitting a few chairs over having a conversation with Artie and Tina. After Brittany had broken up with Artie last year to get back with Santana, Tina and Artie had gotten back together. Sam and Mike, who at the moment were both without girlfriend's, were sitting behind Rachel discussing the Halo tournament they were having with the rest of the guys from Glee this weekend. Finn and Quinn, who usually sat together, were sitting on opposite sides of the room today. Rachel didn't give it much thought because at that moment Puck walked into the room. He glanced in her direction but didn't acknowledge her. They had both agreed that it would be better to remain normal so he brushed past her and took his seat beside Finn in the back row.

Rachel didn't pay much attention when Mr. Schue came into the room and started talking about his ideas for Regional's that were coming up. Don't get her wrong, Rachel still loved singing and cared about Glee club but her morning sickness had just started a few days ago and apparently the baby decided that now would be a good time to make Rachel nauseas. She shifted in her seat and took several deep, cleansing breaths as she prayed she didn't throw up her lunch.

"Mr. Schue?" Rachel's hand shot up quickly. "May I be excused?"

Mr. Schue raised his eyebrows at the girl. "Now? We're trying to come up with ideas for Regional's, Rachel."

"Please?" She begged, standing up and basically running from the room when Mr. Schue finally nodded.

On her way out she noticed the concerned expression on Puck's face but she didn't have time for that now. She barely made it to the bathroom before the contents of her stomach were emptied into the toilet in an empty stall. Luckily, no one else was in the bathroom. The school was basically empty except for the few after-school clubs that met on Mondays.

After a few minutes Rachel was pretty sure her stomach was completely empty since all she had done was dry-heaved for the past few seconds. She wrinkled her nose and flushed the toilet before stepping out of the stall. She washed her hands slowly before looking up into the mirror. She hated morning sickness. She wondered who had come up with that name because it was quite deceiving. It most definitely was not just in the morning.

Rachel splashed some cold water on her face and took another deep breath. She hoped that she didn't get hit with another round of morning sickness as she dried her hands. She stepped out of the bathroom and was surprised when she found Puck waiting anxiously for her.

"Are you okay?" He asked quickly rushing up to her. "You were in there for a while. Mr. Schue dismissed Glee already."

"I'm fine, Noah." She assured him. "It was just morning sickness. It's completely normal."

"It's not morning." He pointed out.

She sighed. "I know."

"Did you-?" He looked nervous. "Did you throw the baby up?"

"What?" She looked up at him incredulously.

"Can't that happen?" He asked.

"Noah." She laughed loudly when she realized he was serious. "I can assure you that the baby is planted firmly in my uterus. There is no way I can vomit up the baby."

A look of relief crossed Puck's face and she laughed harder. "Why are you laughing at me?" He looked offended.

"You are so adorably sometimes, you know that?" She patted his arm.

"I'm glad I amuse you." He grumbled.

"I haven't laughed this hard in a while, Noah." She smiled. "Thank you."

Puck grinned stupidly. "Anytime, Berry."

"Did anyone say anything after I left?" Rachel asked, concerned that someone might have figured out their secret.

"I don't think so." Puck shrugged. "No one looked like they were suspicious or anything and I didn't hear anyone say anything so I think we're good."

She nodded. "Okay. That's good. I cannot have everyone finding out about the baby right now."

"Come on, I'll walk you out." Puck led Rachel down the hallway.

If Puck or Rachel had turned back they would have seen the blonde that had overheard everything. But neither one turned back so the girl went unnoticed.

* * *

Quinn watched as Puck and Rachel made their way down the hall and out of the school. It wasn't her fault that she had heard their entire conversation. It wasn't like she was trying to eavesdrop. Puck and Rachel hadn't exactly tried to keep quiet and that wasn't exactly the kind of conversation people should be having in the middle of a hallway where anybody could hear them.

Quinn frowned as everything she had just heard sunk in. Rachel was pregnant? With Puck's baby? Quinn gnawed on her bottom lip as she tried to think of what to do with this information. She could tell the whole school and bring Rachel Berry down. Quinn thought back to sophomore year when Rachel had told Finn that Quinn's baby was actually Puck's. It would serve Rachel right if Quinn told the whole school that Rachel Berry wasn't as innocent as everyone thought. And tomorrow's pep assembly would be the best place to do it. Or she could keep quiet and let Rachel and Puck decide when it came out that they were going to have a baby. Quinn also remembered how horrible it was when everyone looked down on her. Everyone looked at her like she was some kind of slut. Quinn may be a bitch sometimes but it's not like she hated Rachel.

Quinn sighed. No matter what Quinn decided to do it was going to affect everybody and this wasn't something she should take lightly. She shut her locker door quietly and made her way out of the school. Maybe she should just sleep on it and make a decision in the morning. She nodded, satisfied with this plan but the blonde already knew what she was going to do. She'd made up her mind as soon as she heard that Rachel was pregnant. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

A/N: Just go ahead and hate on me! - hehe, kudos for those who know where I got that. Anyways, what do you guys think Quinn is going to do? I know it's a little early but do you guys think Rachel should be having a boy or a girl. I've already got some great names if it's a boy and a few names I like if it's a girl. Let me know what you guys think.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: There isn't much Puck/Rachel interaction but there is a lot of Quinn in this chapter. I didn't like how the writers did this whole baby thing with Quinn/Puck. It was great in the first season but then the second season just feels like everyone forgot about the fact the Quinn and Puck had Beth. She's only been mentioned a few times and I don't feel like Quinn ever really had a scene where she really talked about Beth and worked through anything.

Review and let me know what you think of this chapter.

* * *

Rachel was sloshing her mouthwash around in her mouth when she heard someone walk into the bathroom behind her. Rachel had been carrying little bottles of mouthwash since the morning had started last week and it had really come in handy. She spit it out and looked up to see none other than Quinn Fabray behind her.

"You okay?" Quinn asked.

Rachel nodded. "Yes."

Quinn shifted uncomfortably and then stepped closer to Rachel. "I heard you throwing up."

"My stomach has just been upset lately. I think I might be coming down with the flu or something." Rachel said quickly.

"Oh…" Quinn smiled softly.

"What?" Rachel asked and turned to face Quinn fully.

Quinn shook her head slightly. "It looks good on you."

"Huh?" Rachel furrowed her brow and Quinn's smile grew as she gestured to Rachel's stomach. Rachel paled when she realized that Quinn knew.

"Don't worry. The morning sickness usually ends around the second trimester." Quinn told her.

"You know." Rachel whispered and gripped the sink for support. "How…?"

"I heard you and Puck talking in the hallway yesterday." The blonde explained.

Rachel sighed and took a shallow breath. "Quinn…" She moved towards the door. She needed to get away from here; away from Quinn. "When you tell everyone can you please just… just don't mention Noah. Don't tell them he's the father. I know you don't owe me anything but please… don't bring him into this." Rachel left the bathroom before Quinn had time to say anything else.

Rachel knew class would be starting soon but she headed towards the auditorium anyway. She could hear footsteps behind her so she walked quicker, escaping into the empty auditorium and sunk on the bleachers, letting the tears flow freely down her face.

"Rachel?" Rachel's head snapped up at the sound of a voice and found Quinn standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"What do you want?" Rachel asked.

Quinn moved to sit next to Rachel. "You have at least a few more months until you start showing and people start noticing. I didn't really start to show until about my sixteenth week. With you being so small and this being your first pregnancy you probably won't start to show until your eighteenth or twentieth week. That gives you and Puck plenty of time to figure everything out. It'll give you a chance to decide how to tell everyone."

"You're…" Rachel looked up at Quinn. "You aren't going to tell everyone that I'm pregnant?"

"I should." Quinn nodded. "You told Finn that I was pregnant with Puck's baby. I should tell everyone that you're knocked up. It would serve you right." The blonde smiled sadly. "But I know how hard this can be. I know how difficult it can be to walk down these halls knowing that everyone is judging you."

"Thank you." Rachel whispered.

They were quiet for a few minutes before Quinn suddenly turned to face Rachel.

"I know Puck hates me for giving Beth away but it was hard on me too. I know people probably think I did it because I didn't love her but they're wrong. I know it was hard on Puck but I carried Beth with me for nine months." Rachel could see the tears well in Quinn's eyes. "She went with me everywhere. For nine months, she depended on me for everything and then one day she was just gone. She wasn't there anymore and it hurts all the time. There's not a minute of any day that I'm not thinking about what she's doing or if she's thinking I didn't want her. I love Beth with everything I have. That's why I gave her away. I couldn't give her family even I wanted to." Quinn sniffled.

"I understand, Quinn. I understand why you gave her away and while I know I couldn't begin to imagine how hard it must have been to give her up I can relate with Beth. While my mother's and your situation were a little different you both had good reasons for what you did. You made the right decision giving Beth up for adoption. Don't let anybody tell you different." Rachel told the blonde girl.

"You make it really hard to hate you sometimes." Quinn smiled weakly.

"I know." Rachel smiled squeezing Quinn's hand.

"You don't have to keep the baby." Quinn whispered.

"An abortion is against my religion, Quinn." Rachel replied, slightly appalled.

"I would never condone that." Quinn said. "I'm saying that maybe adoption is the right choice for you as well. I see how much you want to be a Broadway star. This baby shouldn't stand in the way of that. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, Rachel; I just want to make sure that you know all of your options." Quinn stood up. "You should talk to someone about this. I kept it from my parents and when it finally came out it was terrible. Don't lie to your dads."

"They'll hate me." Rachel whispered.

"No they won't." Quinn shook her head. "I've seen the way your dads' look at you. You're their entire world, Rach. They'll love you no matter what. Don't keep this from them."

Quinn left the room and Rachel sighed. She was so confused. She had no idea what she was going to do. She had crossed out abortion as soon as she found out she was pregnant. She would never do anything like that but adoption had never crossed her mind. Rachel stood up and made her way out of the auditorium. Adoption wouldn't be so bad. A nice family to take care of the baby. They would give him whatever he needed and raise him right. Send the baby to a great college and give him every opportunity he deserved.

Rachel clutched her stomach and shook her head. "What am I going to do, baby?" She asked quietly.

* * *

Rachel was nervously setting the kitchen table. Her and her fathers' usually didn't have a nice sit down dinner. They normally had take-out sitting on the couch watching reruns of Friends but tonight wasn't a usual night. The Puckerman's – minus Sarah, Puck's sister, since she was at a friend's house – were coming over for dinner. Tonight Rachel and Puck were going to tell their parents that Rachel was pregnant.

She jumped slightly when she heard the doorbell ring and she already felt the lump forming in her throat. She heard her fathers' welcome the Puckerman's and then she heard everyone saying their hellos. She moved to a corner of the kitchen as everyone drifted into the room. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Rach?" Puck's voice came from beside her. It was quiet and sounded just as nervous and scared as she felt. "You ready for this?" He asked.

She met his eyes and shook her head. "Not at all."

"Me either." He let out a ragged breath as she led him towards the kitchen table.

"Daddy?" Rachel settled into her chair between her fathers. "Dad? Mrs. Puckerman? Noah and I have something to tell you." Rachel looked between her fathers' and Mrs. Puckerman before her gaze landed on Puck. "I'm…"

"What's going on?" Russel, her dad, asked when he saw the tears forming in Rachel's eyes.

"I'm pregnant." Rachel whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

A/N: This picks up right after last chapter.

* * *

Rachel closed her eyes, sitting on the edge of her bed, as she listened to her fathers and Mrs. Puckerman arguing downstairs. "This is terrible." She groaned.

"They'll calm down." Puck assured her quietly.

"I can't believe this." Rachel chewed on her cheek. "Your mom must hate me right now. My dads' are going to be so disappointed in me. I can't imagine what they must be saying about me right now."

"Rach, it's going to be okay. We're going to get through this. This isn't the end of the world." Puck told her.

"Right." She replied.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Russell asked his partner.

"I don't know." Stephen replied honestly. "How could we let this happen?"

"I think we should bring the kids down and talk about this." Debbie, Puck's mom, suggested. "We should see what they're planning on doing."

"I think your son has done enough." Russell spat.

"Russell." Stephen warned. "Let's calm down."

"Calm down?" Russell's eyes widened. "I think we're past the point of being calm. I have a seventeen year old daughter who is pregnant."

"Daddy?" Rachel's voice came from the doorway of the kitchen. "Do you hate me?"

Russell turned at the sound of Rachel's voice and his face instantly softened at her words. "Oh, Pumpkin, of course I don't hate you." He rushed over and gathered her in a tight hug. "I could never hate you."

"I'm so sorry." Rachel hugged her father back.

"Let's move this into the den. We can talk about this some more." Stephen suggested and everyone did as he said.

Rachel sat squished between her dads' on the couch while Puck sat beside his mom on the loveseat. Everyone looked a little on edge and Rachel noticed Puck avoided both of her fathers' eyes at all costs.

"Can I ask how this happened?" Debbie looked between her son and Rachel.

"It was a Halloween party." Rachel began. "There was some alcohol and things just kind of went from there."

"He gave you alcohol?" Russell glared at Puck.

"No, daddy, Santana gave me the beer. Well, at least the first one. After that I kind of got them myself. It was my decision to drink. Noah didn't force me into anything." Rachel corrected. "And I mean anything." She urged.

"Let's look at our options." Stephen sighed, clearly trying to change the subject.

"I think we should get rid of this thing as soon as possible." Russell said.

"This thing?" Rachel clutched her stomach protectively. Daddy, no, I'm not getting an abortion." She shook her head.

"Rachel." Russell looked over at her.

"I mean it, Daddy, I won't do it." Rachel said firmly. "We have other options. I talked to Quinn today and I think we should consider adoption."

Puck's face paled. "What? Rachel, you can't be serious. There is no way that I'm letting you give up my baby. I won't let it happen."

"Don't talk to her like that." Russell hissed at Puck. "You know, Debbie, you might want to think about having him fixed after this. I wouldn't want him impregnating any other innocent girls in this town."

"Now wait a minute—" Debbie started.

"I think he might be trying to set a record." Russell laughed bitterly.

"How is this all my Noah's fault?" Debbie frowned. "Rachel was in this just as much as Noah was. No one made her have sex."

"Your delinquent son ruined my daughter!" Russell yelled and stood up, fuming down at Debbie.

"Daddy!" Rachel screamed just as loud and jumped up with tears in her eyes. "Noah did not ruin me. Mrs. Puckerman is right. I may have been drinking that night but I knew exactly what I was doing. Noah did not make me do anything I didn't want to. This is just as much my fault as it is his."

Stephen sighed and stood up. "I think that's enough for tonight. There are a lot of emotions going on right now and I think we should just stop for now and talk about this at a later time." He said. "I'll show Debbie and Noah out."

Puck looked at Rachel. He needed to talk to her about this but his mom was basically yanking him out of the front door. Rachel looked up at him but before she could say anything her dad was shutting the door in his face.

"I'm going to bed." Rachel stormed up the stairs.

"Rachel." Stephen called after her but all he got in response was her slamming her bedroom door. He turned to his partner. "Don't you think you went a little overboard, Russell?"

"I can't deal with this right now." Russell grabbed his coat.

"Where are you going?" Stephen asked.

"I don't know." Russell replied before he was out of the front door as well.

"Don't do anything stupid!" Stephen yelled after him but he wasn't sure if he had heard.

Stephen checked on Rachel a little while later. His daughter was sleeping but he could tell she had cried herself to sleep from the tearstains on her cheek. He leaned down and kissed her forehead gingerly before slipping back downstairs and into his own room. He told himself that everything was going to work out in the end as he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Rachel stuffed her books back into her locker. It was almost ten o'clock which meant that third period was about to be starting. As she turned away from her locker the cold, sticky ice hit her hard. She gasped and sputtered out some of the slushy as it dripped down her face. Her fingers wiped it from her eyes as best as they could but she could already feel it starting to burn. She heard the jocks laughing as they sauntered away from her.

Her eyes searched the hallway and when she met Puck's gaze she thought that maybe he would stick up for her. That hope fell when he turned away from her and made his way down the hall in the opposite direction. She heard laughter fill her ears as she escaped into the girls bathroom.

She flung the clumps of red ice into the sink as she felt the tears eat up her throat. It had been so long since she had been slushied she had almost forgotten how bad they were. Almost. She hated being slushied but what hurt more was that Noah had turned away. He didn't even try to help her or defend her. She figured that he would at least try to protect her. If he couldn't protect her from being slushied how was he going to protect their baby?

Rachel heard someone slip into the bathroom and when she looked up in the mirror she found Quinn standing there. The blonde helped Rachel clean up silently and when Rachel was dry, slushy-free, and in clean clothes Rachel finally spoke.

"Do you think you could give me the number of that adoption agency you used?" Rachel asked quietly. Quinn was a little surprised but nodded wordlessly. "I really think adoption would be the best option. For me and the baby." Rachel's hands drifted to her stomach and she silently prayed that she was making the right decision.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

"Rachel?" Puck came up to Rachel after school. "Can we talk?"

"I have to get home." She tried to push past him but he wasn't having that.

"You can't do this." Puck said. "You can't just decide to give my baby away without even talking to me about it."

"You walked away. You watched me get slushied today and then just walked away." Rachel met his gaze. "How can I know you won't walk away again?"

"You wanted us to stay normal. Don't you think it would have been kind of weird if I came to defense earlier today?" Puck countered.

"I don't know." Rachel looked away from him. "What I do know is that I don't want to screw up this baby. He actually has a chance at being normal, Noah. He'll have a chance if he has real parents. Parents that can love him and give him whatever he wants. We can't do that. We're not even out of high school. We can't take care of ourselves let alone a child."

"So you've already made your decision?" He ground his teeth.

"I haven't decided anything. I want to keep my options open. I don't want this baby to miss out on anything just because we have no idea what we're doing." Rachel sighed.

"I'm not letting this go. I didn't fight for Quinn and Beth but I will fight for this baby, Rachel." Puck told her. "I'm going to fight."

She smiled sadly. "I know." With that Rachel turned and walked out of the school as Puck stared after her. He was going to fight and Rachel just hoped he fought hard enough.

* * *

Rachel took a deep breath and her dad, Stephen, gripped her hand tighter. "Are you sure about this, Rachel?" He asked.

"I think this will help us all." Rachel nodded.

She had convinced her fathers' that therapy was a great idea to bring them closer and work out their problems. Russell had been against it at first but Stephen had somehow managed to get him to come the session.

They were called back into a small room and Rachel took a seat in a chair while her dads' sat on the couch. The therapist smiled warmly at all of them.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Nikki Woods but you can just call me Nikki." The therapist introduced herself.

"I'm Stephen. This is my partner, Russell, and my daughter, Rachel." Stephen shook her hand.

"Can you tell me why you are all here today?" Nikki asked.

"Well, I'm pregnant." Rachel said quietly. "I just thought that this would help me and fathers' talk through some things. Things were said the other night and I figured this would be the best way to express our feelings."

"Alright." Nikki nodded. "Why don't we start with you Stephen?"

Rachel looked over at her Dad. "I love Rachel. I love her with my whole heart and nothing could change that. While I may not think this is the best situation for Rachel to be in I accept that we're going to have to pull together to get through this."

"And you Russell? How do you feel about this?" Nikki asked.

"I really don't want to talk about this." Russell avoided Rachel's eyes.

"He thinks I'm ruined." Rachel spoke up. "That's what he said the other night. I'm ruined. I know I screwed up… so much but I never thought he'd look at me like that. Like he was ashamed of me; like he couldn't believe I had messed up so much." She sniffled.

"I'm not ashamed." Russell said and met Rachel's gaze. "Disappointed, yes, but not ashamed. We raised you right, Rachel. How could you let this happen?"

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Rachel swallowed thickly.

"Rachel?" Nikki got the girls attention. "Why don't you tell us about that night? Was it your first time?"

Rachel looked at her dads' and then down at her hands. "No." She blushed at the admission. "Noah wasn't my first."

"Rachel." Stephen sighed.

"Tell me about it, Rachel." Nikki urged.

"It was after National's last year. We had just won and I was so happy." Rachel sighed. "Finn and I had just gotten back together but it wasn't the same. We dated all summer and it was great but then school started again and I felt him pulling away. He wanted to be more intimate and I was afraid he would go looking elsewhere. One weekend my dads' went out of town on a business trip and I invited Finn over. It happened so quickly I'm not even sure if it counted." Rachel shook her head. "I felt so wrong afterwards. I felt like I was… dirty somehow. I can't really explain it. About a week later he broke up with me. He said he didn't want to be tied down and he needed to 'spread his wings' or something."

"Then what happened?" Nikki asked.

"There was this Halloween party." Rachel looked back at her dads'. She could tell they were uncomfortable and definitely didn't want to hear this. "Kurt dragged me there. I drank and I danced and then Noah led me upstairs. We were kissing and it just felt so… right. I remember how he looked at me. I had never been looked at like that before. Finn had never at me like that. Noah… he looked at me and I could tell he wanted me. The way he touched me… it felt great. I was excited and aroused and just plain happy. I keep telling myself I was drunk but the truth is I knew what was going on. I knew he didn't have a condom and I didn't stop him. I didn't care. I just wanted him because I knew he wanted me. He made me feel wanted." Rachel shrugged. "I knew the consequences but I didn't stop it. Five weeks later I missed my period and I was sitting in my bathroom with a pregnancy test. It was positive; I must have taken at least ten tests. I was convinced that they were just false positives so the next day I made an appointment with Dr. Turley. She confirmed it."

"Go on." Nikki looked at Rachel.

"That weekend I had Noah come over while my dads' were at work and I told him. He told me that it was my decision and that he'd be there for me no matter what. I didn't want to tell my dads' because I was scared that they wouldn't love me anymore and that they'd kick me out or something. Noah and I decided to tell our parents together so I invited his mom over for dinner last week and we told them. It didn't go so well." Rachel looked at Russell and Stephen. "I'm so sorry that this happened."

"We know you are." Stephen smiled sadly and squeezed his daughters knee is reassurance. "We'll get through this, Pumpkin."

"I think that's enough for today. We can pick this back up next week." Nikki said. "How does that sound?"

Rachel nodded, thanking Nikki for seeing them and she let her dads' lead her out of the office.

"I meant what I said, Rachel, we're going to get through this." Stephen told her as they headed towards the car outside.

Rachel nodded and felt her other dad, Russell grip her hand hard. She looked over at him and he nodded as well, not saying anything, but they both knew he was offering an olive branch to her.

"Thank you." She whispered, squeezing Russell's hand back softly.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

Rachel sighed, sinking onto her bed the next night. In thirty minutes she had to be at the Puckerman's house for dinner. Debbie had invited her over for dinner and Rachel had begrudgingly accepted. She and Noah hadn't been on speaking terms since Rachel told him that she was considering adoption. He had been avoiding her all week and she was getting sick of it.

Rachel's dads' wouldn't be home from work anytime soon so she left a note by the phone telling them she'd be home late since she was having supper at the Puckerman's. When she pulled into Noah's driveway she saw his truck parked on the curb and she wondered how awkward tonight was going to be.

Debbie ushered Rachel inside and into the kitchen. "I'm so glad that you decided to come tonight. I thought that after the other night you might be a little wary of me. I didn't mean to upset you if I did."

"It's okay, Mrs. Puckerman." Rachel assured her. "Everything you said was accurate. I apologize for my Father's behavior. He and I are working on some things. I don't think he meant anything that he said about Noah; he was just disappointed in me and was taking it out of everyone."

"It's quite alright, Rachel. Finding out that your son or daughter is having a child in high school can be very upsetting. I know all about Noah's reputation and if my little Sarah was to ever be in this situation with a boy like Noah I don't know what I would do." Debbie shook her head.

"I'm terribly sorry about all of this. Truly, I am." Rachel sighed.

"Come have a seat, Dear." Debbie led Rachel to the kitchen table. "I know that you're not far along in this pregnancy – about nine weeks, right?" Rachel nodded. "But I already have a feeling I'm going to be spoiling you like crazy." She laughed. "You're carrying my little Jewish Grandbaby after all." Debbie reached out to pat Rachel's stomach.

"Debbie." Rachel smiled meekly and when Debbie saw the look on Rachel's face, she paled.

"You're keeping it… aren't you?" Debbie asked, almost desperate.

"Hadn't you heard?" Puck's voice came from behind them. "Rachel's decided to give it away. She's just going to pass it along to strange people like that's not our flesh and blood."

Rachel bit into her bottom lip and tried to fight the tears that were springing up in her eyes. "I…"

"She didn't even ask me, she just decided what she thought was best because apparently, even though this is my child too, I don't a say in any fucking thing that goes down."

"Noah!" Debbie scolded. "Watch your mouth. You do not talk to anyone like that, especially not the girl that is carrying your baby."

Puck felt a little guilty when he saw the tears in Rachel's eyes but that was quickly swept away when he remembered that she was planning on giving the baby up for adoption.

"Yea, well, when the baby is given to some new family you won't be on Rachel's side will you?" Puck moved across the room, sinking into a chair on the opposite side of the table that Rachel would be sitting. "She may be carrying my child now, but when he or she is ripped away from me and handed to whatever people Rachel picks out, it won't be my baby anymore, now will it?"

"Noah." Rachel whispered. "I'm not doing this to hurt you. I've already told you that I haven't even decided anything yet. I would never make this big of a decision without talking to you first."

Puck met Rachel's eyes but looked away just as quickly. "Quinn said you two are going to the agency this weekend. Sounds like you already made a decision."

"We're just going to talk to someone; to see what my options are, Noah. A baby doesn't fit in my five-year plan. I hadn't even considered children because I wasn't planning on having them until I was at least 25."

"Now's a crappy time to start considering, Rachel." Puck spat at her. "You may not have planned for this baby but it's here and it's not going away."

"Why doesn't everyone just cool down?" Debbie gestured for Rachel to sit down. "Dinner is almost ready. We'll eat and then we can keep this discussion going afterwards."

Rachel nodded in agreement, relieved that Debbie had interrupted before either she or Puck said something they would regret.

* * *

It was later, after dinner and Debbie had just gotten finished with clearing off the table that Rachel cleared her throat loudly and excused herself from the table. She quickly walked down the hall and escaped out of the house to the back porch. She took in a deep breath and let it out just as slowly. Her hands splayed across her stomach when she heard the door open behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know that Noah was standing behind her.

"I'm sorry." She spoke quietly. "I'm… I'm scared, Noah. I'm terrified."

"I know." He replied.

She turned to face him and shook her head. "I don't think you do. This isn't about us, Noah. This is about this baby and what he or she needs; what he or she deserves. This baby didn't ask to be born but it's going to happen and the least we could is make sure he or she is happy. We can do that if we give this baby up. If we choose adoption this baby will have a good family."

"We could be a family, Rachel." Puck stepped towards her. "We can do this. I know it will be hard but we can love this baby. We can give him a good life. I'll get another job. I've been saving my money up. I can do this, Rachel. I'm going to be a good father. Please…" He begged her and she felt the tears welling in her eyes.

"I don't… I haven't decided anything." She told him and blew out a breath. "I don't know yet. I don't know what I want to do but I need to at least talk to someone at that adoption agency. I'm not saying that my decision is final but I need to get more information."

"We can do this, Rach." He dropped to his knees in front of her and his hands covered hers over her stomach. "I promise. I promise to do whatever it takes, just please… don't take this baby away from me."

"Noah." Rachel chewed on the inside of her and then fell to her knees with him, turning her hands over to grip his. "You've given me a lot to think about… and I'll consider it."

Puck nodded before slowly leaning towards her to brush his lips against hers, making her gasp. He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, his eyes downcast to look at their hands intertwined. "Thank you." He whispered softly before pressing another kiss to her lips. For a second he thought that maybe she was kissing him back but then she pulled away, mumbled an excuse about curfew and she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

"Thanks for doing this, Mrs. Puckerman." Rachel shifted in the front seat of Debbie Puckerman's station wagon. "My dads' work schedules are pretty busy so they couldn't make it to the appointment. I thought that maybe Noah would come with me but it seems as if he's been avoiding me… again." Rachel sighed and looked over at the other women, who was driving. "Where is he anyways?"

"I'm sure he's around somewhere." Debbie deflected the question.

"Why…? Why is he ignoring me? I know he's mad at me but… these appointments are important. I thought he was maturing but him refusing to show up at the appointment makes me doubt that."

"I like you, Rachel, so I'm telling you right now to stop. Stop this conversation before you make me say something I'm going to regret." Debbie gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"I'm sorry… Mrs. Puckerman, I didn't mean to offend you." Rachel stammered.

"Let's just listen to the radio until we get there." Debbie suggested and Rachel was grateful.

The appointment went slow. Dr. Turley was a little surprised to see Rachel back again so soon, especially since Rachel wasn't supposed to come in until she was five months along and Rachel wasn't even three months. Debbie had insisted that Rachel make an appointment immediately because Rachel had been complaining of slight cramps. It turned out that Rachel wasn't eating enough. Debbie insisted they go out for food right after so it was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon before Rachel was finally able to lay down on her bed.

Rachel sighed, glancing at the clock because she had to get up in an hour to get ready for the New Year's Eve Party her fathers were throwing tonight. She closed her eyes, letting her mind wander for a while.

* * *

Rachel was dressed in a nice simple, white dress she had bought just for this party. It was very similar to the dress Maria wore in _West Side Story_, right down the red strip in the middle. She was sipping from her glass, staring out of the window as everyone talked around her when she felt _him_ come to stand beside her.

"I didn't know you were going to be here." She looked over at him from the corner of her eye.

"I wasn't planning on coming but I wanted to see you." Puck replied.

Rachel nodded and sipped her glass again.

"Is that wine?" Puck asked, snatching the glass from her hand.

"Noah!" Rachel frowned. "While most doctors do say that one glass of wine is perfectly fine while pregnant, I would never risk it so no, it's not wine." She took the glass back after he sniffed it. "It's grape juice." She looked around at the slow party. "Why don't we go up to my room? We could talk." She grabbed his hand lightly and led him upstairs, shutting her bedroom door behind them.

He sunk down on the edge of her bed and she sat her glass down on her bedside table.

"Where were you today?" She asked, sitting beside him.

He looked over at her and then reached into his pocket to pull out a large bundle of cash. "Here. I want you to have it."

"Noah…" She furrowed her brows. "If that money is illegal I don't want it."

"I didn't get it from selling pot or anything." He rolled his eyes. "I told you that I would pick up a few odd jobs to help you out."

She took the money gingerly in her hands. "There's like seven hundred dollars here." She looked up at him, wide-eyed.

"Yea, there's this awesome pair of nun chucks that I wanted but I thought that you and baby were a little more important. I got promoted at Sheets N' Things and I've been working part-time at the 7/11. I even got a job from Mrs. Sylvester. She makes me shine every single one of her trophies every Saturday but she pays like two hundred bucks so it's worth it." Puck told her and shrugged. "I couldn't make it to the doctor's appointment today because I was at the pawn shop. I pawned my guitar."

"Your guitar?" Rachel jumped up from the bed. "Noah, no, I can't take this money."

"Yes you can." Puck stood up as well. "I want you to have it. I want to do whatever I can to make this easier on you because fuck… I know I screwed everything up but… I'm ready to do this. I'm ready to stop being a Lima loser; I'm ready to be a father. I can do this, Rachel. Doesn't this," He pointed to the money. "Doesn't that show you that I'm maturing?"

Rachel pursed her lips and then smiled softly. "It does." She stepped towards him. "So I'll take five hundred of this for the baby… you'll take the other two and you're going to go get your guitar back."

"Really?" Puck asked. He really did miss his guitar. He almost cried when he had to hand it over.

"Really." She nodded, laughing slightly. "This is my baby, too. I can help out with the expenses as well. This doesn't all have to fall on you."

"Can I just say that you're doing this whole pregnancy thing a lot better than Quinn?" Puck smiled. "She was always telling me to get more money somehow. I kind of wish I'd knocked you up the first time instead." He chuckled lightly.

"Noah!" Rachel shook her head but laughed along with him. "You're incorrigible."

"Don't know what that means so I don't care." He chuckled.

"Countdown's about to start." Rachel told him and they both looked over at the clock, which read 11:59. "We should get back downstairs. My dads' probably don't like us being up here alone together."

"Why? It's not like I can get you pregnant again." He teased and she slapped his arm, leading him back downstairs just as the countdown started.

Rachel and Noah stood at the end of the stairs, watching as everyone kissed at the end of the countdown. Rachel laughed when Debbie walked over, letting Puck kiss her on the cheek. She smiled fondly at him as he laughed along with his mother. She reached down to take his hand and his eyes flashed over to hers, squeezing her hand in response.

They stayed like that for the rest of the night. Holding each other's hand as Puck talked to Debbie and Rachel's dads' and Rachel sipped on her grape juice. Nobody mentioned that they were holding hands but both Rachel and Puck knew everyone saw it. They were both a little grateful nobody asked what was going on between the two because honestly, the two themselves weren't really sure.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

Rachel and Puck had their own little bubble. During school, the kept a comfortable distance so as not to alert the fellow glee-clubbers to their situation. The only one that knew what was going on was Quinn, who offered advice to the both of them when needed. When Rachel thought about it, she found it odd that Quinn had become such a confidante. They had spent most of high school hating each other and fighting between Finn and Noah. Sometimes, Rachel was worried that Quinn would announce to everyone what exactly was going on with her and Noah, but she dismissed it as soon as the thought entered her mind. Quinn had been an amazing friend lately and Rachel found herself leaning on Quinn a little too much. Quinn said she didn't mind but Rachel always apologized for being such a burden. The blonde would just shrug the thought away and continue talking to Rachel about her plans of the baby.

"I'm really considering Noah's idea." Rachel admitted one afternoon. The two girls were lounging in the back yard of the Berry residence. "My dad's said that they would support any decision I made."

"So you want to raise the baby… with Noah?" Quinn asked, her voice neutral. That was something Rachel loved about Quinn and this new-found friendship. The former cheerleader had never urged Rachel into any decision about the baby. She would simply offer her opinion and leave Rachel to make the final decision.

"I didn't say that." Rachel sighed. "I'm just thinking about it. But I'm thinking about adoption, too. I've already read through all of the information from the agency that the lady gave me. It sounds like a great choice. The baby would have a strong family, financially and emotionally. This baby would have parents that are ready for him or her. God knows, Noah and I aren't ready for this."

"It's okay to wait. You don't have to make the decision now. You have months before you have to decide this." Quinn told her lightly.

"I know." The girls slipped into a comfortable silence, something that wasn't unusual for them.

They were both thinking over everything that had led up to this. If you had asked either girl if they would be friends and talking civilly to each other, they both would have laughed in your face – although Quinn would have been a little more vicious and smacked you in the face with an insult.

The small brunette's hands ran over her stomach. It was protruding slightly, swollen. Quinn had told her it just looked like she had a big lunch and that it was hidden easily under her shirts. Rachel liked the way it felt. It made this whole thing more real. She had a baby in her stomach – well, not literally but you know what she meant. Noah and Rachel had created a baby. She loved the feeling. She loved the thought.

It had been a while since she had some alone time with Noah, the New Year's Eve party to be exact, so the two had relished every second they could get together. It was now February, one week until Valentine's Day. Rachel couldn't believe she was already three months along. This pregnancy was zooming right by her. She was already in her second semester.

"I think about what it would have been like if Puck and I had decided to keep Beth." Quinn's voice was quiet, vulnerable, as it pulled Rachel out from her thoughts and back into reality. "She'll be two soon." The blonde nodded sadly. "Sometimes I wish it had been an open adoption. I mean, it's not like I want her back, I know I gave her up for a reason, but I'd just like to know she's okay. A picture, an email, something to tell me how she's doing. I'm afraid that she'll grow up and wonder if I didn't want her. Will she hate me? Be grateful that she wasn't raised by two dumbass teenagers?"

"Quinn." Rachel reached over to hold onto Quinn's hand and the blonde squeezed it in response, using her free hand to wipe away the tears that had slid down her cheeks.

"I'm being silly." Quinn brushed it off. "I think that you being pregnant is bringing back some memories. Your hormones must be raging and I'm the one over here crying." She laughed lightly.

"It's okay." Rachel smiled. "I don't judge you, Quinn. You've let me gripe about everything. It's okay if you just want to talk. I'll listen. It's the least I could do after everything."

"Thanks, Rachel." Quinn nodded.

/

Puck let Mike drag him to a party that night. He knew it was a mistake. He should be spending this time with Rachel but he couldn't exactly tell Mike that he wanted to skip the party to hang out with Berry. He had tried to invite Rachel but she told him she wasn't up for any loud music and drunken footballers. She told him to go with Mike and have fun. They still hadn't made anything official, they were still just _something_, but he always made sure to tell her about his plans in case she needed something.

He was in the middle of a small poker game in the basement of the house when his cell phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He was a little worried when Rachel's phone number flashed across his screen but he was starting to break a sweat when he answered to find one of her dads were calling.

"Noah?" Puck recognized the voice to be of Stephen Berry, the nicer one, and Puck was grateful.

"Yea." Puck slipped out of the front door of the house to try and find a quiet area. "Is something wrong with Rach?"

"No. It's nothing really." Stephen paused. "Are you at a party?"

Puck looked back at the house. "I was just about to leave."

"Rigth." Mr. Berry didn't sound so sure. "I shouldn't have called. I'm sure Russell and I can take care of it." He told Puck.

"Is Rachel okay?" Puck asked before Stephen could hang up the phone.

"I'm not sure." Stephen admitted. "She locked herself in her bedroom. She's been crying for the last two hours. We can't get her to come out and she won't tell us what is wrong with her. I just… I'm desperate here, Noah. I don't know what going on in that busy head of hers. I just thought that maybe you could come over. You might have a better chance at talking to her than we would. I tried to call that Fabray girl but she's a church with her mother. If you're busy I can just try to get her to come out of her room again."

"No." Puck sighed and looked behind him to see Mike waiting impatiently. Apparently, Puck had halted the poker game when he walked outside. He blew out a breath and turned back to the phone call. "Fuck… I'll be there in ten minutes. Tell her to hold tight." He ended the phone call, not even caring he had let out a cuss word.

"You coming, Puckerman?" Mike asked and he was soon joined by Finn.

Puck fished into his pocket for his truck keys. "Hudson can replace me." He called over his shoulder as he jogged towards his shoulder. "Family emergency. Gotta go."

He didn't wait for their response before he was jumping into his truck and throwing it into reverse. Rachel needed him and he wasn't about to blow her off for some shitty party that was probably going to end soon anyways. _The baby_ needed him.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

Stephen led Puck straight up the stairs as soon as the boy got there. "She still hasn't come out." He explained. "Russell's been trying to reason with her but she just cries harder."

"What is he doing here?" Russell asked.

Puck felt his palms start to sweat again. Apparently, Russell didn't like him as much as Stephen did. "I… I'm just here to help." Puck told him. "Mr. Berry called and asked me if could try to talk to Rachel."

Russell looked like he didn't want to back down. He stood there, blocking Puck from Rachel's door, but eventually, after a pointed look from Stephen, moved to the side. Puck nodded in appreciation and wiped his palms on his pants before stepping forward. He brought his fist up and knocked lightly on her bedroom door. All he got was sobs in return.

"Rachel?" Puck called. "Come on, open the door." He sighed and glanced back at her fathers. He knocked a little harder this time and his voice was harsher. "Rach, open the door up now or I'm breaking it down." He waited a few seconds. "I'm not bluffing." He added and held his breath.

Finally, the door clicked, letting everyone know that Rachel had unlocked it and she slowly opened it. Puck was faced with a red-eyed Rachel, tears staining her cheeks, and it made his heart ache.

"Noah." She whimpered before hugging him.

He looked over at her dads and wrapped his arms around her, not sure what was going on. "Are you okay? Is the baby fine?" He asked in a rush.

"I'm fine." She nodded. "_We're_ fine."

Puck pulled her over to the bed and sat them both down. "We'll give you some privacy." Stephen whispered and pulled Russell down the stairs, much to Russell's dismay.

"You want to tell me why you're crying?" Puck asked. "I just about pissed myself when your dad called, said you had barricaded yourself in your room and refused to talk to anyone. I left a kick-ass party to come see what was wrong with you." Okay, so the party had been lame but if his mother had taught him anything, it's how to use guilt to your advantage. "Rach?"

"I…" He saw the tears welling up in her eyes again and he quickly pulled her back against her chest.

"Shit, Berry, please don't cry. I hate when girls cry. It makes me feel weird." He frowned. "Calm down." He pleaded. "Tell me what has you so worked up so I can fix it. Did someone say something to you?"

"No." Rachel took a deep breath and pointed to the pile of skirts on her floor. "That."

Puck furrowed his brow. "You're crying because you couldn't find anything to wear?"

She shook her head fiercely. "They don't fit!" She sobbed.

He knew it was wrong but he couldn't help it when the hearty laugh escaped his throat. He felt bad for laughing at her. She was pregnant and hormonal; she probably couldn't help the tears that were taking over. The glare she shot him just made him feel worse.

"What is so funny?" She huffed. She seemed to be done crying, at least for now.

"You're crying because some damn skirts won't zip up?" He chuckled and gripped her hand. "You're so fucking adorable." He leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the lips. She seemed a little surprised by that but she was a good actress and quickly reigned in her emotions. "You're pregnant, Rachel."

"I'm fat." She pouted and crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Rachel…" His eyes softened and they darted down to her stomach. Ever so slowly, he reached down to grip the hem of her shirt and pulled it up.

"Noah." She whispered.

His eyes glanced up at her brown ones but just as quickly, they were back on her stomach. His hands grabbed her wrists and pulled her to her feet, moving her to stand between his legs in front of her. He swallowed thickly as the pad of his fingertips brushed over her swollen belly.

"That's our baby in there." He whispered lowly. "Can you feel it?"

Rachel licked her lips and eyed him carefully. "I can. I feel it." She replied; she just wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling. She moved to sit beside him on the bed and smiled hesitantly. "I'm tired, Noah." He nodded moving to leave but she caught his wrist. "Stay." She whispered. "Please?"

Puck chewed on the inside of his cheek and then caved. "Lay down." He told him and she did, letting him slide into the bed behind her.

His hand slipped under her shirt to sit firmly on her stomach. She found it comforting and twisted her head to look at him. "I'm fourteen weeks pregnant, Noah." She told him and he hummed to let her know he had heard her. "Dr. Turley should be able to tell the sex of the baby in about six weeks, depending on the baby's position in the womb."

"Do you want to know?" He asked.

"I do."

"Me too." He smiled against her shoulder. "Boy or girl? What do you want?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "But whichever the baby is, we have to choose a strong Jewish name." She told him softly.

"Ma wouldn't have it any other way." Puck felt his chest tighten when he realized she was talking as if they were keeping the baby. "If it is a girl though… I hope she doesn't look like you."

The words sounded better in his head and he knew as soon as they stumbled from his lips that Rachel was going to take them the wrong way. He felt her whole body tense and he silently groaned, pulling on her hand until she turned onto her other side so that they were facing each other.

"Rach…" He whispered and made her look up at his eyes. "I didn't mean, fuck… look at you. If I had to deal with raising a daughter that looked anything like you, I don't know what I'd do. I'd have to beat the boys off with sticks, Rachel." He chuckled when he saw the small smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "You're gorgeous, Rachel. So fucking beautiful." He kissed the tip of her nose and she giggled. "Don't ever doubt that."

"I hope the baby doesn't have my nose." She added after a few minutes.

"I love your nose." He whispered sleepily.

She smiled into the crook of his neck and soon she was snoring softly. He heard a noise behind him and when he twisted slightly, careful not to wake Rachel, he found Russell standing in the doorway.

"I can leave." Puck started to get up but Russell held up his hand and stepped into the room slightly.

"No. Stay." Russell stayed quiet. "It's okay." He turned to go. "Just… don't hurt her." Puck nodded and watched him go, deciding that the entire Berry family was half-crazy.

Puck blew out a breath and pulled Rachel a little closer to his body. He received a text from Mike asking how the family emergency went and if everything was okay. Puck glanced down at Rachel and quickly typed out the message before falling to sleep himself.

_Everything's good._


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

* * *

"Who do you think the father is?" A girl whispered loudly as Rachel walked past.

"I always thought she was a virgin. Who did she give it up to?"

Rachel bit into her bottom lip and tried to make herself to disappear. This couldn't actually be happening, could it? For a second she thought that maybe Quinn had told but then she felt the blonde come to walk protectively beside her and the thought quickly disappeared.

"Who told?" Quinn whispered quietly, raising her chin defiantly against the thick crowd staring at them. "Don't look at any of them, Rachel. Look straight ahead and keep walking." She paused before quickly adding the next part. "And don't cry. If you cry, they win."

"I can't believe this." Rachel tried to hide beside Quinn. "No one was supposed to find out."

"It's all over Jacob Ben-Israel's blog." The blonde replied. "Somehow he figured it out. I'm so sorry, Rachel. I know how hard it is to walk down these hallways like this."

"Does Noah know?" Rachel asked and quickly scanned the hallway for the mohawked boy.

"I called him but he won't answer his cell phone." Quinn sighed. "He's either asleep and hasn't heard or he found out and is currently killing Jacob."

"Oh, God." Rachel groaned when she caught sight of the glee-clubbers huddled together, whispering, and looking right at Quinn and Rachel. "I can't do this." She shook her head but Quinn grabbed her hand.

"I've already talked to them." Quinn assured her and they stopped in front of the glee club.

"Who's the daddy?" Santana asked.

"San." Quinn warned.

"What? We're all thinking it." Santana shrugged. "I'm just the only one with big enough balls to ask. I know it wasn't Finn, he wouldn't have been able to keep the secret this long. I don't even know if Artie's junk works and Mike's balls are in Tina's purse. Kurt's gay…" Santana paused and then her eyes widened. "Really, Berry?"

"Don't." Quinn stepped forward, standing directly in front of Santana. "Please, Santana, just keep your mouth shut."

But it was too late, quickly everyone in the small group came to the same realization that Santana had seconds ago – except for Finn. "I don't get it." Finn frowned and Santana rolled her eyes.

"Puckerman strikes again." Santana smirked when Puck walked up to stand beside Rachel. "I would have thought you'd get yourself fixed after you knocked up the Celibacy Queen. You really are stupider than you look, Puck."

"Shut up, Satan." Puck squared his jaw and pulled Rachel away from the group.

"Wait." Finn shook his head. "So Rachel's pregnant? With Puck's baby?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and narrowed her eyes. "Brittany, Tina, Mercedes, Santana, Lauren, come with me." She started to walk off towards the choir room. "Kurt, you can come too."

"Yay." Kurt clapped excitedly and followed the small group of girls.

"I'm so confused." Finn frowned.

Mike shook his head. "Super-sperm." The Asian boy mumbled.

/

"I'm not doing that." Santana shook her head after Quinn told them her plan. "No fucking way am I singing a song to Rachel. She got herself into this mess." She shrugged.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Tina sighed. "I kind of agree with Santana. Rachel should have been smarter and used a condom. Especially with Puck, there is no telling what kind of diseases that boy has."

"This is Glee club." Quinn shook her head at the girls in front of her. "A place where people feel safe and don't have to worry about being ridiculed. Rachel made a mistake, yes, but we have to be to help her through this."

"I repeat: Not doing it." Santana crossed her arms.

"Rachel is part of Glee club which means she is part of us." Quinn squared her jaw. "I'm singing this song. I'm not saying you have to sing with me but if you don't…" She looked at each person in front of her. "Don't even bother coming to practice this afternoon. You won't be welcome in glee club anymore."

She turned quickly and walked out of the choir room. She let out a breath when she heard the heels of feet following her. She turned her head slightly to see that Kurt, Tina, Mercedes, and Lauren were behind.

Santana watched the group go and turned to find Brittany looking at her. "Glee club is family." Brittany told Santana. "That makes Rachel our family, Santana." She walked towards the door, stopping when she reached the doorway. "And we help our family." The blonde pursed her lips and rushed off to follow after Quinn.

/

"Mr. Schue." Mercedes raised her hand when the teacher walked into the choir room. "We have a song to sing to Rachel." Mercedes walked down to the center of the room.

"We wanted to tell you how much we appreciate you." Tina smiled and joined Mercedes.

"And that we're here for you." Brittany added, walking down as well.

"If anyone tries to mess with you, we're there for you." Lauren told the small brunette girl, moving to stand beside Brittany. "Especially me. I can totally kick anyone's ass that tries to pull something."

"So just lean on us." Quinn smiled, thinking back to last year as she made her way down to stand in the middle of the group of girls. "We really think this song will help, Rachel."

"I helped pick the song." Kurt whispered, moving to sit in the chair beside Rachel and clasped the girl's hand.

Rachel took a deep breath and felt Puck shift beside her. The music started and Quinn was the first to sing.

Quinn:

2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,  
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?  
I don't love him, winter just wasn't my season"

Tina:  
Yeah, we walk through the doors, so accusing, their eyes  
Like they have any right at all to criticize  
Hypocrites, you're all here for the very same reason

Brittany:

'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table

Mercedes:  
No one can find the rewind button, girl  
So cradle your head in your hands

Tina:  
And breathe... just breathe

Lauren:  
Oh breathe, just breathe

Mercedes:  
May he turned 21 on the base at Fort Bliss  
Just a day, he said down to the flask in his fist,  
"Ain't been sober, since maybe October of last year"

Quinn:  
Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while  
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles  
Wanna hold him, maybe I'll just sing about it

Tina:  
'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.

Lauren:  
No one can find the rewind button, boys  
So cradle your head in your hands

Quinn:

And breathe... just breathe

Mercedes:  
Oh breathe, just breathe

Everyone looked up when a voice from the back row started to sing the next part. Rachel craned her neck to watch as Santana sang, moving down from her chair to grab Rachel's hand and pull her towards the center of the floor with the other girls. Rachel smiled softly and looked back up to see all of the boys watching the scene play out with interest.

Santana:  
There's a light at each end of this tunnel,  
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out  
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again  
If you'd only try turning around

Quinn:  
2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song  
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,  
Threatening the life it belongs to

Quinn nudged Rachel with her elbow and Rachel smiled brighter, tears forming in her eyes as she took a step forward, breaking out from the group of girls.

Rachel:  
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd  
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud  
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to

But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table

No one can find the rewind button now  
Sing it if you understand

Lauren:

And breathe

Mercedes:

Just breathe

Quinn:

Oh breathe, just breathe

Brittany:

Oh breathe

Tina:

Just breathe

Santana:

Oh breathe, just breathe

Santana and Quinn both stepped forward, taking Rachel's hands as all of the girl's harmonized the last few notes. The boys clapped loudly and Rachel took a ragged breath, meeting Puck's eyes. She nodded to him once and he smiled back.

"Thank you." Rachel turned to Quinn and the rest of the girls. "This was amazing. You really didn't have to do this."

Santana smiled and replied with the first thing that came to mind. "We're family." She shrugged as if this explained everything. It kind of did.


	12. Chapter 12

I don't own Glee.

A/N: This chapter is kind of short. And fluffy. There's going to be some very small angst coming up so I thought I would throw out some fluff to soften the blow. Also, Puck may seem a bit OOC and I realize that. But honestly, I don't think he would behave too far off from this if he and Rachel were ever in a similar situation.

/

"No." Rachel gripped onto Puck harder when he shifted to leave her bed. "Don't go yet; stay for just a little bit longer. Please, Noah?" She clung to his arm and he chuckled.

"Go back to sleep, Rachel, you're exhausted. I have to get to work and then I'll stop back by to check on you before I head home for the night." He sighed, untangling himself from her grasp and she fell back onto the bed, defeated. She watched him slip his shirt back over his head and then he was pulling open her door. "I promise that I'll be here to tuck you in, Rach." He always said that but it didn't make her heart fall any less when she knew he had to go.

She nodded, the sleep clouding her thoughts and then she heard her bedroom door shut quietly behind him. She sighed, rolling over, and forced herself to sit on the edge of the bed. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and squinted to read that it was barely three o'clock in the afternoon. On a Saturday. Usually she would take a run about this time or head to the JCC to volunteer to help Rabbi Greenburg.

This pregnancy was really wearing on her but she refused to cut back on her extracurricular activities. She compromised with Noah after he insisted she slow down so now she spent every Saturday lounging in her bedroom and sleeping as much as possible. Saturday wastheir day. He would set his alarm clock to wake up earlier than usual and be at her house by eight in the morning. Her dads would always have breakfast ready for Rachel and Puck before they headed to work and then the two teens would have all day to laze around the house by themselves.

They spent most Saturdays tucked under the safety of her soft pink comforters while he hummed in her ear, a movie playing quietly in the background. He always let her pick the movie but every so often she put in an action movie she knew he would enjoy. She would nuzzle into his neck, inhaling his dull scent that somehow made her calm. Most smells were a little too strong lately and made her nauseas but Puck smelled like rain and fresh cut grass. That's probably just because he took up a small lawn-mowing business that ran alongside his pool cleaning.

She never asked but she was positive he had given up the cougars. He spent nearly all of his free time with her so he didn't have much time for his other… interests.

His hands always found their way to her hair. He would slowly run his fingers through her soft curls with one hand while the other rested firmly against her stomach, slowly stroking his thumb under the bottom of her shirt.

She had given up her skirts weeks ago when they began to get tight. So now, she either wore some sweatpants with a tank top or a baggy shirt that covered her bottom. Puck never spoke up about her clothing choices but she had noticed his eyes always lit up a little more when she decided not to wear pants. Maybe that was why she had chosen shorter shirts lately. Even if she was pregnant, it didn't mean she couldn't feel pretty, right?

Besides, she had been reading some pregnancy books lately and they all said that her hormones should be raging right now. Dr. Turley said it was completely normal that Rachel had been turned on a little more by Puck lately. It didn't help that most Saturdays they ended up stealing soft, light kisses from each other. It never went beyond that, hands always stayed above the waist, but it didn't keep either of them from wishing the other would take it further.

Saturday was_ their_ day.

Occasionally, though, he did have to work in the afternoons so she was left home alone. She usually tried to busy herself with some light cleaning but her dads were careful about keeping the house pretty much spotless. It was infuriating sometimes. Everyone around her was treating her like she was breakable and weak. They didn't want her lifting anything over five pounds or to reach too high. She was only three months pregnant. She was barely showing and they were trying to put her on bed rest.

Puck worked until ten, sometimes nine if his boss let him go early, and then he would drop by Rachel's house to tell her goodnight. It was probably weird that they spent so much time together, especially since they still weren't an actual couple, but both Puck and Rachel found it weird when they were apart.

She couldn't get to sleep without him tucking her in, something her dads usually did, but Puck had recently taken over that task. She would always be in bed waiting for him and he would smile when he slipped into her bedroom. She would offer him a sleepy grin and he would come to sit on the edge of her bed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" He promised after tucking her in. "Goodnight, Rachel." He kissed her forehead and she smiled softly when he bent to kiss her belly too. "Goodnight, half-pint."

Rachel giggled. "Don't call our baby that."

Puck smirked up at her. "Then what do you suppose we call him or her."

"I don't know." She shrugged. "But not half-pint."

"What about… Boo-Berry?" He offered and she scrunched up her nose. "Dumpling?"

"I like Button." She whispered, tangling her fingers with his and pulling his hand up to her stomach. "Because the baby still tiny, like a little button."

"The baby probably looks like a little sea monkey too. Why don't we call him or her that?" He joked and she rolled her eyes. "Button it is." He leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her lips. "Goodnight, Button." He mumbled before kissing her a little more firmly.

"Goodnight, Noah." Her breath was only slightly ragged when he finally pulled away from the kiss. He rarely kissed her like that so when he did, she savored it. The raging hormones weren't doing much to defuse the ache between her thighs. She grappled to hang onto his shirt but he was already on his feet and laughing at her.

"You've really got start taking those cold showers, Rach." He teased. "You've been really handsy lately. I mean, I'm not complaining but sometimes it's hard to pull away when you do that thing with your tongue."

"Who asked you to pull away?" She asked. Where did that voice come from? She almost sounded… sexy. She cleared her throat and blushed up at him. "I'm sorry. It's hormones again."

He laughed and once again sat on the edge of her bed. "I think I like these hormones a lot more than the ones that make you cry." She rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying, Rachel, is we have time to decide what we are to each other. I'm pretty sure sex kind of got us into this situation in the first place so…"

"We need to take it slow." She finished his thought and they both nodded. "I understand, Noah. Sometimes it's just really hard to control myself around you."

He smirked and gave her a light peck on the lips. "I know how you feel."

She swallowed thickly and glanced up at him. "What does this mean?"

He took a long breath and finally found the right words. "It means that I'm going to finish telling you goodnight and then I'm going to go home. I'll see you at school on Monday, Rachel, and maybe I'll ask you on a proper date."

She nodded, finding his idea to be a great suggestion and squirmed back under her blanket to smile up at him. He always did this; he always hummed a song before he left. And the song was always _Sweet Caroline_. She would tell him that he could pick another song but he always went with that song. To be honest, she didn't mind.


	13. Chapter 13

I don't own Glee.

* * *

"Three days." Puck leaned back against the locker next to Rachel's and smiled proudly at her. "Button will be four months old in three days." He crossed his arms and she turned to smile back at him as she rearranged her books before her Spanish class.

"I'm basically in my second trimester." Rachel nodded. "I'll be glad when the puking stops. Dr. Turley said it usually ends around four months. I really hope so because all that stomach acid can't be good for my vocal chords. Nothing should happen to my voice but I've been soothing it with honey and taking vitamins like crazy." Her hand clutched her throat.

"Are they alright for the baby, the vitamins, I mean?" He asked, concern thick in his voice, and it made Rachel's chest well by how worried he was getting. He's going to be a great dad.

"I already talked to Dr. Turley about them." She nodded again. "They're perfectly safe as long I don't take too many at one time or for a prolonged period."

Puck furrowed his brow and looked down at Rachel's outfit. "Is that a new shirt? I've never seen you wear it before." He still wasn't sure how he felt about her wearing leggings or jeans most days. He preferred her skirts but she got depressed every time she saw them. She wore dresses a lot so he was surprised when he saw her in a baby doll tee and jeans.

"It's not new." She shook her head. "Well, it is for me. Quinn still had all of her old maternity clothes and since everyone knows I'm pregnant anyway, there isn't any reason to hide my bump anymore. These shirts don't broadcast that I'm pregnant but they're more comfortable than my sweaters." She sighed and smiled at him. "Your mom offered me her old maternity clothes, too. I have to say they were actually kind of cute but Quinn and Kurt both refused to let me walk around in anything that was in style in the 90's."

A whirl of blonde hair basically ran past Rachel before coming to a quick halt and moving to stand directly in front of Rachel and Puck. Brittany beamed brightly at both of them before taking a wild breath, as if she was trying to calm herself.

"Rachel!" Brittany grabbed the brunette's hand excitedly. "I have been looking for you everywhere. Santana and I have something to show you." The blonde bounced up and down on her heels when Santana finally walked over, looking a little less bitchy than usual. The Latina tried to look bored and uninterested but Puck could see the glint of excitement in her eyes.

"She's going to hate it." Santana hissed to Brittany and then turned to Rachel. "I warned her you would scream but she insisted we do it. Just remember that you're pregnant so obviously I won't hit back but try to avoid my face, okay?"

"Why would I hit you?" Rachel furrowed her brow.

Brittany quickly unzipped her jacket and pulled it open, revealing a crisp white shirt with black letters scrawled across it, much like their shirts from the 'Born This Way' number. Rachel gasped and Puck covered his laughter by trying to cough. Santana rolled her eyes and slowly unzipped her own jacket to show off her shirt that matched Brittany's.

Rachel pursed her lips, looking back at forth between the two girls. "Why…?" She asked. Her eyes scanned over the shirts one more time to make she was reading them correctly. Yep. Right there in huge black letters was the word: Pucklebaby.

"Aren't they great?" Brittany asked and her backpack fell to the floor. She quickly dug into the bag and pulled out two more shirts. "I had some made up for you, too." She handed one shirt to Rachel and the other to Puck.

Rachel raised her eyebrows and looked at Santana as if to say 'is she fucking serious?' Puck, just to push Rachel's buttons, slipped off his own light jacket, yanked off his t-shirt, leaving him in only a wife beater, and pulled the 'Pucklebaby' shirt over his head.

"I love it!" Brittany clapped her hands together, glad Puck had decided to wear the shirt. The blonde turned to Rachel and looked at the pregnant girl expectantly. "What do you think, Rachel?"

"I…" Rachel smiled weakly and looked at the shirt in her hand. "I love them but I'm not sure the shirt will go with what I'm wearing today. I'll try to wear it sometime this week, though."

"I'm glad you like them." Brittany hugged Rachel hard and scooped up her bag again. "I have to see the rest of the gleeks." She turned to go, pulling Santana with her. "I made them shirts, too."

Rachel let out a strangled groan once the two girls were out of earshot and turned to smack Puck in the stomach. "I hate you right now." She glared at him and crossed her arms.

"What'd I do?" He asked defensively. "Brittany made the shirts. I didn't want to hurt her feelings by not trying it on. She would have been crushed. Did you really want me to make Brittany cry?" He raised his eyebrows. He was purposely trying to annoy her and they both knew it.

"Are you going to wear it all day?" She uncrossed her arms, exasperated.

"Yep." He popped the 'p' annoyingly.

She huffed and pushed him with as much strength she could muster. "I hate you." She hissed, upset he hadn't even stumbled. "You got me pregnant and you're wearing that shirt so I get to hate you today. Get used to it, Puckerman, I'm probably going to hate you through the whole pregnancy."

"For what reasons?" He asked.

"I don't have to have a reason." She smirked at him. "It's my God-given right as a pregnant woman. We get to hate the men that did this to us. Why do you think we have late-night cravings? We have them all day, we just choose to wait and make you go out in the middle of the night. It's more fun for us to watch you suffer." She shrugged innocently.

He didn't seem fazed, and instead, leaned towards her with his own smirk. "Dinner tonight at my house? I know I said I was going to take you on a proper date but I've been trying to save up money for the baby and there aren't many vegan restaurants around here to choose from." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "My mom said she could whip up something vegan for you. She's a great cook so I'm sure you'll like it. I mean, if you want to go somewhere else, we can; I just thought it would be nice for you and me to spend some time with Ma and my sister. My sis asks about you all the time and Ma's always going on and on about how happy she is that I knocked you up instead of another gentile." He paused to take a breath and Rachel laughed. "What?"

"You're rambling." She smiled brightly up at him. "It's cute. It's almost like you're nervous or something." She tilted her head slightly, studying his face but he tried to keep his expression neutral. "I'd love to have dinner with your family, Noah. Your mother is great and I don't think I've ever actually met your sister." She leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Pick me up at my house around five, okay?"

"Yea." He nodded and then smirked. "So you don't hate me now?"

"Not at this very moment." She replied.

"Then I guess now would be a good time for me to leave before I do something to piss you off." He kissed her lips chastely. "See ya after school, Rach."

She rolled her eyes. "We have algebra together." She called after him but she was sure he would find an excuse to occupy to the nurses' time so she was just wasting her breath.


	14. Chapter 14

I don't own Glee.

* * *

"It's so great to have you over again, Rachel." Debbie led Rachel into the kitchen where Sarah and Puck were already sitting at the table. "Have a seat, sweetie."

Rachel smiled, sitting in the chair beside Puck. "Hey." He kissed her cheek and his hands gripped hers. "I'm glad you came. Ma has been bugging the shit out of me to get you over here again."

"So you're really pregnant?" Sarah asked. "Like… with Noah's baby?"

"Yes." Rachel nodded.

"Are you going to move in with us like Quinn did?" Sarah questioned. "Cuz she was mean and always hogging the bathroom. She told me I was an annoying brat and she listened to bad music all the time. One time, she even threw up in the kitchen sink. It was disgusting."

Rachel smiled sheepishly. "I'm not moving in, Sarah."

"Oh…" The small girl sighed. "How'd you get the baby inside you anyway? I asked Noah but he just blushed and told me to shut up."

"Shut up, Sarah." Puck kicked at her under the table.

"No, I wanna know. I mean, did you swallow something. Christy in my class told me if you swallow a watermelon seed then a baby grows in your belly so now I don't eat watermelon. That kinda sucks cuz I love watermelon but I don't want a baby. I'm tiny so I don't think I could grow a baby inside me anyway."

"Sarah, you can't get pregnant by swallowing something." Debbie shook her head, dishing the casserole out onto the plates. "I've told you this time and time again."

"Then how'd it happen, Rachel?" Sarah looked at Rachel imploringly.

"I…" Rachel pursed her lips.

"Eat your food, squirt." Puck warned, trying to avoid this awkward conversation.

"No, let Rachel tell her." Debbie raised her eyebrows. "It will give you two practice when you have to give your children the talk." It wasn't lost on Rachel or Puck that Debbie said 'children' and not 'child.'

Rachel sucked in a breath and looked to Sarah. "You see, when you two people are… loving with each other something really cool happens. Noah put the baby inside me so it could grow. I have to protect it so it can get big enough to survive outside my body."

"How'd he put it inside you?" Sarah scrunched up her brow and then she gasped, her eyes widening. "You and Noah love each other?"

Rachel's throat dried and Puck choked on his water beside her. "…No." Rachel shook her head. "But Noah and I care about each other. We made the mistake of making this baby a little too early. You're supposed to wait until your married, Sarah."

"Okay." Sarah seemed satisfied with this explanation. "Are you going to marry my brother? Cuz I've always wanted a sister so it'd be pretty cool if you did. That way you could live with us and I wouldn't even mind sharing my toys with you."

"Noah and I are way too young to get married." Rachel laughed softly.

"But mom said you're supposed to be married to have babies." Sarah countered.

"I did say that." Debbie nodded innocently.

"So I think Noah should buy you a ring or something. I mean, you guys don't have to get married right _now_, but he could give you the ring so everyone knows you two love each other. Then, when you get a little older, you could get married and I could be in the wedding."

"Oh." Rachel looked at Puck. "Why don't you take this one, Noah? You've been awfully quiet this evening." She cocked her head slightly, wondering how he was going to get himself out of this one.

"Well, uh, I don't want to get married, Sarah." Puck shrugged.

"Why not? I thought you liked Rachel."

"I do." He nodded. "But like she said, we're too young to get married. I mean, maybe in a few years we can talk about marriage but for right now… we just need to concentrate on not failing out of high school. We graduate in a few months, Sarah, we're too busy to get married."

Sarah frowned but then sighed. "But you promise you'll think about marrying her in a few years, right Noah?"

Puck looked at Rachel, who was blushing as she fumbled with the edge of the tablecloth. "Yea, I promise." He replied and his mother smiled widely.

/

Mr. Schuester's newest assignment was to sing a song that explains where you are in life, _right now_. It's kind of a weird assignment for high schoolers but the gleeks ran with it, searching for songs to sing. That's how Rachel ended up in the auditorium that afternoon but Puck had already beaten her there. He was sitting on a stool in the center of the stage with the band around him. She could tell he was getting ready to sing so she stuck to the shadows and watched him closely.

The music was soft, almost like a lullaby, and it drew Rachel closer. She sucked in a breath when Puck started to sing and she recognized the song instantly, her hands going to hold her slightly protruding stomach.

Well I just heard the news today  
It seems my life is going to change  
I close my eyes, begin to pray  
Then tears of joy stream down my face

With arms wide open  
Under the sunlight  
Welcome to this place  
I'll show you everything  
With arms wide open  
With arms wide open

Well I don't know if I'm ready  
To be the man I have to be  
I'll take a breath, I'll take her by my side  
We stand in awe, we've created life

With arms wide open  
Under the sunlight  
Welcome to this place  
I'll show you everything  
With arms wide open  
Now everything has changed  
I'll show you love  
I'll show you everything

With arms wide open  
With arms wide open  
I'll show you everything ... oh yeah  
With arms wide open… wide open

There was a guitar break and Rachel was tempted to walk up on the stage and kiss Noah soundly. He was singing again before she had a chance to make a decision.

If I had just one wish  
Only one demand  
I hope he's not like me  
I hope he understands  
That he can take this life  
And hold it by the hand  
And he can greet the world  
With arms wide open...

With arms wide open  
Under the sunlight  
Welcome to this place  
I'll show you everything  
With arms wide open  
Now everything has changed  
I'll show you love  
I'll show you everything  
With arms wide open  
With arms wide open

I'll show you everything… oh yeah  
With arms wide open... wide open

Rachel listened to the notes fade out and then Puck stood quickly, thanking the band for sticking around. For the first time since Rachel found out she was pregnant, she realized she wasn't the only one unprepared for what was about to arrive in the world in a short four and a half months. She sucked in another breath and watched as Puck slowly left the auditorium, his hands shoved in his pockets as if he was thinking about something.

/

Puck had the house to himself tonight so he was a little irritated when the doorbell rang downstairs. It was his first night off in weeks and he just needed a little time alone. The frown fell off his face when he opened the door to find Rachel standing on his front porch.

"I thought you were hanging out with Quinn tonight?" Puck stepped back to let her in and she led him straight up to his room. He was still confused as to why she was here.

"I uh… I wanted to see you." She told him quietly and held out the gift bag in her hands. "I got you something." She smiled sheepishly. "You can't open it yet, though." He took the bag and sat it on the bed. "I went to the adoption agency today with Quinn because Leann wanted me to meet with some prospective parents."

"Rachel." Puck sighed.

"Just listen, okay? I was talking to them and they're amazing. The husband, he's a doctor and a very good one at that. The wife was so nice and sweet. I think she said she was an author. They were like, the perfect parents, Noah. They can't have their own children because the wife is infertile. Quinn loved them and she said they were make great adoptive parents. And I agree with Quinn." Rachel felt the tears welling up in her eyes. "But as I was talking to this couple, I realized I don't want anyone else to hold my baby and take care of him or her. This is _our_ baby, Noah, not anyone else's. I couldn't imagine just handing my baby off to some strange people. I don't want that. And I know we're going to mess up majorly because we have no idea what we're doing but… we should at least try. I mean, if we love this baby, we have to try."

Puck's mouth was on hers then, sucking the air out of her lungs but she didn't seem to mind, kissing him back with the same intensity. He pulled away hesitantly, still sprinkling kisses over her face so she could breathe. "You don't know how long I've waited for you to say that. Fuck, Rachel, I love this baby so much."

"I do, too." She smiled softly, pulling his hand to press against her swollen stomach.

He led her back to the bed and let her curl into his side as his fingers ran through her hair. "Can I open my present now?" He asked quietly, afraid if he talked to loud, he would pop the bubble they were wrapped up in.

"Mm-hmm." She nodded, pulling the gift bag towards him and his hand reached in to pull out three parenting books. "I bought three. One's for the mother, one's for the father," She smiled, her fingers trailing up and down his forearm as he studied the books. "And I thought we could read the other one together. It's about childbirth and what to do after the baby arrives." She yawned. "Is it okay if I text my dads that I'm sleeping over here?"

"Yea, yea, sure." He replied absently as he opened the books for dads and started to read. "The light's not bugging you is it?" He asked, planting a soft kiss to the top of her head. "I can turn it off if you want."

"No," She smiled at the sight of him actually studying something. "It's fine."


	15. Chapter 15

I don't own Glee.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Noah?" Rachel asked warily when he pulled his truck into the school parking lot. "We don't have to do this today. I mean, we can wait."

"Everyone already knows you're pregnant, Rach." Puck shrugged and tangled his fingers with hers for a second. "I don't think anyone's going to care if you wear my letterman jacket."

"I know... but if I wear the jacket they'll know we're together." She glanced over at him. "Are you sure you want to do that. You remember what happened when Quinn was pregnant and everyone thought the baby was Finn's. They slushied them constantly."

"Yea, well, that was Finn. No one is going to mess with me." Puck shrugged.

"They've done it before." She pointed out.

"Put the jacket on, Rachel." He told her firmly and she pursed her lips before nodding. "Okay, then." He grinned and jumped out of the truck to help her out from her side. "Let's go. We don't want your perfect attendance getting messed up, now do we?"

"Don't make fun of me, Noah. I can take this jacket off just as quickly as I put it on." She leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek so they both knew she wasn't mad at him. "But I do like wearing your jacket, so thank you."

Puck took her hand again and started to lead her towards the school. Rachel grew even more nervous as they walked down the hallway, hand in hand, and everyone turned to stare at them. She spotted Karofsky and Azimio down the hall, large plastic cups in hand, and when she looked to Noah she knew he had seen the pair as well. Puck led her down the hallway straight towards Azimio and Karofsky.

"Noah, let's go the other way." Rachel suggested and pulled on her hand.

"No." He shook his head. "Your locker is right there and I'm not going to detour around the school just to avoid those dickheads."

Rachel sucked in a deep breath and realized she didn't have an extra set of clothes with her. She wanted to pull Puck into the closest closet but he seemed determined to face down Azimio and Karofsky. They were getting closer and the slushy holders had already spotted Rachel and Puck. Rachel screwed her eyes shut tight and her free hand covered her stomach but the cold liquid never came.

"Back off, Karofsky." It was Sam's voice and Rachel opened her eyes to see the blonde standing between her at the hockey player.

"You too, Azimio." Beside Sam was Mike, standing tall between Azimio and Puck.

"Take it somewhere else, puck-heads!" Quinn appeared beside Puck.

"Why don't you two go fondle each other in the janitor's closet?" Santana crossed her arms protectively next to Rachel.

Rachel pursed her lips, her chest swelling when she realized the whole glee club was surrounding Rachel and Puck. She was more than a little surprised to see Finn but she could feel him standing right behind her and when she looked up at him, he winked. Puck's grip tightened on her hand and she smiled when both Karofsky and Azimio sauntered off.

"You guys can't stay together all the time. We'll get one of you alone eventually." Azimio promised over his shoulder.

"You okay?" Puck asked Rachel and she nodded.

"I'm fine," She assured him and hugged his lettermen jacket tighter around her small frame. "Why can't they just leave us alone for once?"

"It's okay, Rachel, we won't let them slushy you again," Mike promised. "We'll be looking out for you."

Rachel smiled gratefully and let Puck lead her off to her first class. He'd actually been consistent lately with going to class. They had the same schedule in classes and ever since Rachel told him she wanted to keep the baby, he'd basically been her shadow.

She finally got away from him at lunch when she told Quinn to call a small meeting in the girls bathroom. She was waiting nervously by the sink when Quinn, Mercedes, and Santana walked in.

"I've got Sam distracting Puck so let's make this quick," Quinn said.

"I'm freaking out," Rachel told them. "I'm five months along right now and the appointment is tomorrow to find out the sex of the baby."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Mercedes asked. "Once you find out you can start picking out colors for the nursery."

Rachel sighed. "What if I'm not a good mom? I mean, my dads were great growing up but I have no idea what a mom is supposed to do. I don't know how to take care of a baby. When we had to carry those flour sacks around in ninth grade Noah dropped his from the bridge across town and then made dumped mine all over Artie."

Santana rolled her eyes. "I think Puck knows this baby isn't a flour sack."

"I don't think I'm ready for this," Rachel looked at Quinn.

"You've been reading the books, right?" Quinn asked and Rachel nodded. "Then you know what to do. You're just nervous. Everyone gets nervous when they have a baby, Rachel. I'm not saying you and Puck are going to be perfect parents and I'm not saying you two aren't going to mess up but you two are going to make this work. You're going to be a great mom and he's going to be a wonderful dad. You'll figure it out as you go along. There's no book that dictates everything you have to do to raise a child. It'll come naturally as soon as that baby is in your arms."

"What if it doesn't?" Rachel asked. "What if this baby doesn't like me? What if Noah realizes being tied down to me and the baby is a mistake and he leaves?"

"That would never happen," Santana snorted and Rachel turned to the Latina.

"How do you know?" Rachel questioned.

Santana opened her mouth but Quinn shot her a glare. "I..." Santana sighed and shrugged. "I just do."

Rachel pursed her lips and nodded. "You guys are going to help me, right?"

"For as long as we can," Quinn assured her.

"Why'd you only call us three in here anyway?" Mercedes asked.

"We've all dated Puck in some way or another," Rachel replied. "I just thought you three would be the best to talk about this."

"Let's go back to the cafeteria before Puck comes searching for you," Quinn said.

Rachel checked her face in the mirror and started to follow the three other girls out of the bathroom. She was reaching for the door when Santana stopped her.

Santana waited until Mercedes and Quinn were far even away not to hear what she was saying. "You were wrong," Santana said and Rachel furrowed her brow. "You said we've all dated Puck."

"We have," Rachel nodded.

"No," Santana smiled. "Quinn, Mercedes, and I had Puck. You have _Noah_," She turned away then and walked down the hallway.

Rachel grinned at Santana's words before following her down the hallway.

/

"And do you want to know the sex of the baby?" Dr. Turley asked.

Rachel lay on the table, her shirt pulled up and the cold gel splattered across her ever-growing stomach. Puck was beside her, holding onto her hand, his eyes never leaving the screen that showed their little baby. The heartbeat was loud in the room, echoing into the small room they were in. Debbie, Stephen, and Russell were all waiting in the lounge for the young parents to get done.

Rachel looked up at Puck and he met her gaze. "It's up to you," He told her and nodded. "Whatever you want."

She swallowed hard and turned back to Dr. Turley. "We want to know," She smiled when Puck leaned to kiss her forehead softly.

"Thank you," He whispered in her ear and gripped her hand tighter as they both anxiously awaited Dr. Turley's answer.

"Well," Dr. Turley studied the screen for a few seconds and pointed at a very small blip. "It's a boy! Congratulations. Or in your case, Mazel Tov!"

Rachel giggled and Dr. Turley helped her clean off before Rachel moved to sit on the edge of the table. She stared at the screen where it was frozen on a still of the baby and Puck sat down beside her after Dr. Turley gave them some privacy.

Puck handed her the sonagrams the doctor had printed off and Rachel let her fingers glide over the smooth paper. "It's so surreal," She whispered. "I mean, I knew I was pregnant but it's just now starting to feel real, Noah."

"I know what you mean," He replied. "These past five months have been the fastest and slowest months of my life. I don't know if I can wait until August to meet this baby."

Rachel grinned. "We're doing the right thing." It wasn't a question, more of a statement.

"We are," He told her and grasped her hand. "Are you ready to go tell our parents about all this?"

"I suppose," He helped her down from the table and didn't drop her hand as they walked back towards the waiting room. "I want you to stay over tonight, though, at my house. I just want to spend some time with you... alone."

"Okay," He grinned and opened the door for her.

Rachel was barely past the doorway before her dads and Debbie were asking to see the pictures. She took care of setting up another appointment before walking out with Noah and their parents.

"So?" Stephen asked. "Boy or girl?"

Rachel nudged Puck and nodded. "Boy!" Puck laughed.

Rachel broke apart from the men as they talked about how great having a little boy was going to be. She caught words like baseball and basketball and she's sure Stephen even mentioned a dance class.

"Isn't it exciting?" Debbie asked from Rachel's other side.

"It really is," Rachel replied and smiled at Debbie. "I'm glad everything's going so smoothly."

"I'm happy you decided to keep the baby, Rachel," Debbie whispered sincerely. "I know you were wary at first and I realize that this baby might disrupt your plans for the future but this means a lot to me and Noah. He's always fought so hard not to be his father and you're making him so happy. You didn't see him after he had to give up Beth. He was so upset and he was afraid the same thing was going to happen to this baby."

"I care about Noah," Rachel told the older woman.

"I know," Debbie nodded. "And he cares about you. A lot. I just want to understand what this means to my son. He's going to get the chance to be a real father. Family is so important to him and you're giving him the chance to prove he's nothing like his own father. I want you to know that you're part of the Puckerman family, even if you and Noah never get married... you two will forever be bonded."

"I understand," Rachel smiled genuinely.

"This baby is going to be so lucky to have parents like you two. I know having a baby so young can put quite a strain on a relationship but you and Noah seem to be going strong."

"Noah and I are just trying to get through all this. I'm not sure what's going to happen after the baby arrives but we've agreed to always be civil to each other just in case we don't work out in the end," Rachel told her.

Debbie grinned. "I'm sure you and Noah will be fine," She gave Rachel a knowing smile. "And I know you two will work out. I can feel it. I may have to wait ten years but I'm going to get my Jewish daughter-in-law, Rachel."


	16. Chapter 16

Hello,

You were probably expecting a new chapter of this fic but we have some bad news. Amber, or as you know her, acaudill0068, has been in a very serious car accident. She was driving back late Saturday night from Tennessee where she was visiting her grandparents when she was struck by a drunk driver. The driver was fine but Amber wasn't so lucky. She is currently in the ICU and was put into a medically induced coma due to brain swelling. The doctors aren't sure how long she's going to be in the coma but it could be days, weeks, months, maybe longer. She's in critical condition right now but everyone is very confident she's going to pull through.

Our names are Crista and Elizabeth and we're close friends of Amber. We know how important her current fics on this site are to her so we were planning on working on them in our spare time to keep them updated while she's still in the hospital. We weren't sure if this would be okay with her readers but we know she doesn't want to make you guys wait for an update. They may not be as often as hers were - weekly - but we'll work on them as much as we can. She's got most of the fics planned out and outlined so we'll stay as close as we can to her ideas.

We'll work to keep everyone updated on her condition and we hope she'll be waking up any day now. As soon as the swelling goes down the doctors plan to awaken her but it's just touch and go right now. She's pretty beat up but she's a very strong and stubborn girl so she won't give up without a fight.

It would be great if you could just leave a review letting us know what you all think about us keeping up with her fics. We'll post as frequently as we can but it may be about a week before we get anything up on the site.

Amber wasn't a very religious person but please keep her in your prayers and, at the very least, send good thoughts her way. She's recovered quite a bit from that trauma of the accident and it only happened last night so that's a great sign. Unfortunately, the swelling hasn't gone down any but we're staying positive! We'll definitely keep you posted on her condition when we do update so there's no need to worry. Her family is by her side and she'll pull through this. We plan to visit her daily or as often as we can to read her the reviews you guys leave.

We know how grateful she is to have such amazing readers so Lizzy and I will work our hardest to keep up with her writing style. Hopefully we won't stray too far from her storylines!

Thanks for reading,

Crista and Elizabeth


	17. Chapter 17

AN: There hasn't been much change since the other day so I don't really have much to say. Amber coded once on Monday and then again on Wednesday because her blood pressure kept bottoming out. In the past few days she's been pretty stable so hopefully she stays like that. The doctors said she may be able to hear everything around her so we've been talking to her a lot. I read most of the reviews you guys left and then Lizzy brought in a stereo. Another of Amber's friends, Derrick, made up a neat playlist with all of her favorite songs. Most of them are by Lea Michele or come from Broadway and the doctors were pretty impressed because a few minutes after the songs started to play her BP started to rise dramatically. We took that as a great sign since it's been pretty low since she was admitted, even with all the medicine the doctors are giving her.

The swelling has gone down quite a bit but the doctors think it's still going to be at least a week before they're able to wake her. They're slightly concerned because they were only anticipating for her to be in the coma for a few days and now it's been almost a week. While there isn't a reason to be worried just yet, the doctors are concerned about cognitive impairment if the swelling doesn't go down sooner.

She has several broken bones - a fractured hip, two broken femurs, a broken ulna, a few cracked ribs, and a broken clavicle - a few bruised ribs, some internal bleeding, and burns covering most of her arms, stomach, and right leg so you can tell she's pretty beat up. Even after all this, we're remaining positive. She _will_ pull through this. We just have to hope it is soon.

When she does wake up, she's still going to have some major problems. The doctors say she'll need a physical therapist because she'll most likely have to learn how to walk again. She also may need a speech therapist if the brain damage she got from the accident is severe. Once she wakes up, her road to recovery is going to take some time. It may be months before she's able to return fully to her life.

I'm not trying to upset anyone by this news but I think everyone needs to know the risks of her condition. There's really no reason to worry at this point. Amber has the best doctors and nurses caring for her so she'll be perfectly fine.

The doctors think the reason it's taking so long for the swelling to go down is because body is working so hard on healing her other wounds. She has 3rd degree burns and those are hard to heal, especially in Amber's state.

Now, I've gotten several messages asking about sending flowers or cards to Amber. While I really appreciate the sentiment I'm going to have to politely decline for three reasons. One, the hospital doesn't like a lot of deliveries, especially in the ICU. Two, Amber does like her privacy so I'm sure if she'd like me giving away her location or anything.

Amber has this unnatural ability to make anyone and everyone like her. She's insanely kind and would go out of her way to help just about anyone. This brings us to my third reason and that is her room is already overflowing from flowers and get-well-cards, and even stuffed giraffes - she love giraffes. Lizzy and I have even decorated her room a bit more to bring in some positive energy.

So, the gifts, though much appreciated, aren't necessary. She's got plenty of friends sending her flowers and such but you all can keep sending good thoughts and keep her in your prayers. All her family and friends, me included, are so thankful for all your kind words and thoughts. They're keeping us all positive so thank you. Her parents really appreciate it, especially her mom.

I'm sure a lot of you were expecting an actual update to these fics and Lizzy and I are both trying really hard to work on them. We both work full-time so it's hard to find time to write on them between work and visiting Amber. I have no idea how Amber found time to keep so many fics going at once because she goes to school full-time and has two full-time jobs. Plus, Lizzy's married and thirty-seven weeks pregnant so she's trying to get ready for the baby. I actually have worked on a few of the chapters but I'm afraid I'm going to go in a different direction than Amber wanted. Hopefully, Amber will be awake soon and then maybe she could tell me what to write since she won't be able to type it up herself.

Also, a lot of people are asking about the drunk driver. To be honest, I really could care less what happens to him. I did hear that he had some internal bleeding that wasn't caught at first so I think he was in the hospital for a few days - luckily, not the same one as Amber - but I'm pretty sure he's still okay. I do know that he will be charged and I think he's even awaiting a hearing now.

I will definitely keep everyone updated on her condition if it dramatically changes or she wakes up. Again, thanks to everyone that has shown their support. I haven't had time to reply to each and every review that has been left but we all really do appreciate it. If you have any other questions about her condition just let me know and I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible.

Crista


	18. Chapter 18

So, good news everyone, Amber is awake! The swelling went down faster than the doctors were anticpating and they woke her up Monday afternoon. I meant to let you all know sooner but it's been pretty hectic. There were doctors coming and going from her room all day yesterday and most of the day today. It doesn't seem as though she had any major damage cognitively but her memory is a little fuzzy. She doesn't remember anything about the accident and she keeps mixing up words. Her sentences don't always make sense but the doctors say that's normal after this kind of accident and that it's probably temporary.

She had barely been awake 24 hours before she was asking the doctors when she could go home and, of course, that made us all laugh because it was the first time she actually sounded like Amber since waking up.

She's having a bit of a hard time with all the burns and the broken bones. She wants to get up and get back to work, school, etc. but she's basically on strict bed rest right now. They can't fit her into hard casts right now because of the burns so the healing process is going to take a bit longer than normal but she should start her harder physical therapy in about six weeks.

A main reason it took me so long to get you all updated is because I spent all day Tuesday trying to find a PT for Amber. The one the hospital referred her to kind of clashed with Amber as soon as they met. Amber wanted to set up harder goals than the PT was comfortable with. Luckily, I found a great therapist that will keep her motivated and who will push her like she wants but still be sure to not push her too hard.

But like I said, her memory is a little shot right now. She didn't really even remember who Lizzy was at first Monday. The doctors assured us it's only temporary but I think it's frustrating Amber. She tried to ask for water yesterday and she couldn't remember what a straw was called. She's doing better today and she does have a speech therapist coming to work with her tomorrow afternoon so hopefully Amber will be getting back on track quickly.

I'm not exactly sure what else I can tell you about Amber's condition right now other than she's stable. I just wanted you all to know what was going on with her. Again, thanks to everyone that has shown your concern and hopefully the next time you all get an update it's from Amber and not me!

Crista


	19. Chapter 19

I don't own Glee.

*/*

"Are you okay, Rach?" Brittany asked when Rachel gasped and grabbed her stomach while they were waiting for Mr. Schue to show up to Glee practice.

"Yea," Rachel looked around at everyone staring at her. "I just... I think the baby just kicked."

"Did you do something to make him mad?" Brittany asked.

Rachel giggled and grabbed Puck's hand from beside her and pressed it to her belly. "Feel that?" She whispered quietly but Puck's eyes were glued to her stomach, his touch soft on her skin.

"Move, Puckerman, I wanna feel," Santana brushed his hand aside and replaced it with her own.

"Hey," Puck complained but settled back in the chair beside Rachel anyway. "It's _my _baby," He grumbled and Rachel smiled as the rest of the glee-clubbers crowded around the soon-to-be parents.

"Whatever," Santana grinned mischieviously. "Once Rachel wises up and dumps your ass, I'll be stepping up and raising this baby Lopez-style. This baby is going to be one badass bitch."

"Language," Rachel scolded half-heartedly.

Mr. Schue walked in then and watched the scene in front of him with interest. "Sorry to interrupt but we have to pratice guys. We took Sectionals and Regionals easily but Nationals is sneaking up on us and we need to be prepared."

"Maybe if we had a set list made more than five minutes before we go on stage we'd be better," Santana crossed her arms as she moved back to her chair beside Brittany. "I mean, Vocal Adrenaline practices for months before the competition and it always feels like we're sloppy and uncoordinated."

"That's why we're going to spend all day today and next week coming up with ideas for the setlist," Mr. Schue grinned. "We're buckling down so everyone is going to have to put aside their issues and drama. We need this win guys, and that's only going to have if we all lean on each other. This is a family and we have to take this seriously. Most of you have put in three long years and now it's time to make it worth all the sprained ankles and long hours of choreography."

"Obviously," Rachel straightened up in her chair. "I suggest Barbra."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."

"Then what do you suggest we sing?" Rachel questioned. "I don't see anyone else throwing out any ideas. Just remember that any suggested songs need to be in my range," She paused. "Well, actually, my range is spectacular so I don't think that will be a problem."

"What about orignal songs? We did them last year and rocked it," Tina suggested lightly.

"_My headband_?" Brittany perked up and Santana just patted her knee.

"No headband, Britt," Santana shook her head.

"We don't need another screw-up like 'Pretending,'" Artie pointed out. "That really messed up our chances of winning Nationals."

"I've said I was sorry, okay?" Finn frowned. "Why can't everyone just let it go?"

"What about Liza?" Kurt offered, successfully changing the subject. "She always brings the house down."

"How about something that doesn't make my ears hurt?" Puck rolled his eyes. "If I have to hear Rachel's rendition of 'Cabaret' one more time, I'm going to stick pencils in my ears."

"You said you love my voice," Rachel frowned.

"No," Puck smirked. "I said I love your _mouth_. There's a difference, babe."

Rachel snorted and slapped his arm but no one missed the small smile creeping up on her lips. "Fine, I get it, no Barbra or Liza," She sighed. "But I'm running out of ideas."

"How about everyone just take a break. Think of some songs over the weekend and I'll see everyone on Monday. And guys," He blew out a breath. "try to take this all seriously. I know not all of you want pr need this win but most of us in this room do. Believe me, a win like this would look great to a college, especially those of you wanting to go into the Arts."

*/*

"This came in the mail for you today," Stephen said when Rachel got home that afternoon. "I didn't open it... I thought you'd like to read it first and then tell me and your Dad what it says."

"Oh," Rachel took the thick envelope from her father and pursed her lips when she saw who it was from. "Julliard. I sent my application before I found out I was pregnant."

"That's why Russell and I think you should talk this over with Noah. This decision is between the two of you and whatever you decide... your father and I will support it."

"Okay," Rachel nodded numbly and took the familiar flight of stairs up to her room, the letter heavy in her hands. "Okay," She repeated to herself once she was in her room and the envelope was making a dip on her comforter.

She watched it cautiously, almost like she was afraid it would disappear, and then she sucked in a deep breath before picking it up gingerly. Her stomach was in knots as she read the papers inside, over and over.

They wanted her. _Julliard wanted her_. Her free hand landed on her stomach and tears filled her eyes. Her due date was in August. Right after classes would be beginning. There was no way she could go to New York and attend Julliard. She couldn't dance while she was nine months pregnant.

But they wanted her. She'd been accepted. She couldn't just give up that oppurtunity. She wasn't sure why she felt like she was betraying Noah so much when she picked up her phone and quickly dialed the admissions office.

*/*

"So I picked up your favorite," Puck told Rachel when she opened the front door and found him holding two pizza boxes. "I hope you don't mind that I brought Mike and Sam with me. I guess I forgot tonight was guys night when I told you I'd come over..."

"Come on in boys," She stepped back to give them plenty of room and scrunched her nose up when Noah leaned forward to press a kiss to the tip of it on his way into the kitchen.

She found it hard to be upset with him, even if he was inviting his friends to a night that supposed to be _just_ Noah and Rachel, especially when he stopped being Puck for a few seconds and did something so completely sweet and romantic like kissing her nose. In front of his friends. She did have to admit she didn't hate when he started being Noah around his friends instead of Puck all the time. She had a feeling it was rare when Sam and Mike just grinned at her on their way to the kitchen.

"Veggie for you," Puck passed her a plate with a slice of pizza on it and she smiled gratefully. "I wasn't sure if your dads were going to be up so I went ahead and picked up their favorite, too."

"Actually, they went to bed about twenty minutes ago because they wanted to give us some privacy but you can stick it in the fridge and I'm sure they'll heat it up tomorrow," Rachel hoisted herself onto the counter and frowned slightly when it creaked below her. "Maybe I shouldn't eat another piece. I'm so big already," She sighed and looked down at her half-eaten slice of pizza."

"You're eating for two," Sam said through a mouthful of pepperoni. "Aren't you supposed to get fat?"

Rachel's eyes widened and Sam grumbled when Puck punched him in the shoulder. "She's not fat, asshole," Puck scowled. "She's pregnant and she's supposed to look like that. She's carrying a baby._ My baby_. Now apologize."

"Sorry, Rachel," Sam looked over at her and continued to rub his shoulder. "You're not fat."

Rachel wiped her hands on a napkin before rubbing her baby bump. "You guys don't think I'm fat?" She questioned seriously. "Because these are an old pair of Puck's sweatpants and they're already starting to get tight."

"You're not fat," Sam repeated and watched Puck out of the corner of his eye. "When my Aunt was pregnant she got like three time the size of you. Besides, you're only about six months along now. You'll be getting a lot bigger in the next few months."

"Dude?" Puck punched the blonde again.

"Stop doing that," Sam whined. "I just said she wasn't fat!"

"Just don't say anything," Puck's scowl deepened. "Shove another piece of pizza in that huge mouth of yours and _don't talk_."

"Don't listen to either one of them, Rach," Mike said from beside her. "If I wasn't with Tina and Puck wasn't such a protective asshole, I'd totally get with you you." Her brow furrowed and Puck made a move towards the Asian, who just danced out of Puck's reach and chuckled. "Seriously, Rachel, let me know if you ever get tired of the _Puckerone_."

Puck lunged at Mike again and this time his fist made contact with the other boys arm. Mike cradled his arm and moved to sit beside Sam at the table.

"Hurts, don't it?" Sam teased.

"You all act like twelve year olds," Rachel rolled her eyes and continued to rub her belly. "How am I supposed to raise a baby in this environment."

"Don't worry, Rach, I'll get these boneheads straightened out before the baby comes," Puck promised.

Rachel smiled and said, "You're one of the boneheads, Noah." She giggled when he narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," She grabbed his hand, pulled him towards her, and he wedged himself between her legs.

"I guess you'll just have to find a way to make it up to me," He murmured and rolled his eyes when Sam and Mike made gagging noises from behind him.

"You guys are going to have to be quiet before you make my dads come in here," She warned and Puck sighed.

"I guess we should get going," Puck blew out a breath and helped Rachel off the counter. "Mike has a curfew and he can't miss that or he'll freak out."

"Dude, my parents already took my bedroom door away. If I miss another curfew, Tina can't come over anymore and that means no freaky times in my bathroom when my parents are watching HBO in the den."

"I'll walk you out," Rachel smiled and led the boys to the front door.

"Did you have something you wanted to talk about?" Puck asked after he sent Mike and Sam to the truck. "You sounded nervous on the phone earlier."

Rachel thought back to the acceptance letter and her mind wandered to the phone call she'd had a few hours ago with Julliard's admissions office. "No," She shook her head and forced herself to smile. "I was just being silly. It's nothing that can't wait until Monday."

"You sure?" Puck asked and kissed her cheek. "I can make the guys wait in the truck if you don't want to talk in front of them."

"Honestly, Noah, it's nothing," She said a little more convincingly. "It was just me worrying about little things. I'm sure everything will turn out like it's supposed to. Don't worry, okay? I'm taking care of it."

"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be the one telling you not to worry," He smiled and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Now go get some sleep and don't forget to call my Ma tomorrow. She's all worried that you're not eating enough to get the right amount of sleep."

"I will," She promised.

She took a few minutes to herself after the boys left and then she was holding the letter from Julliard firmly in her hands and knocking lightly on her dads bedroom door.

"Are you guys still up?" She poked her head in and was relieved to see them both awake and reading a book. "Can I talk to you?" She carefully crawled up in between her two fathers and sighed happily when she felt like a little girl again, curling up between her two big, protective dads whenever there was a storm or she had a bad dream.

"Of course, bunny," Stephen kissed her temple and Russell pulled the blanket around all three of them. "Is this about that letter you got today?"

She nodded silently and handed it to Russell. "I think you can throw that away," She said quietly and Russell looked at Stephen.

"Are you sure," Russell asked. "Did you talk about this with Noah?"

"No," She shook her head. "I didn't need to. He's already sacrificed so much for me and this baby; I don't want to run away from this. I agreed to have this baby with Noah and that's what I'm going to do. Besides, if Julliard wants me that much they can wait another year... right?"

"They'll be begging for you to come to their school next fall," Russell smiled and she tucked her head into his shoulder.

"You think?" She yawned.

"I know so," Russell nodded and kissed the top of her head. "Get some sleep, Rachel. I'm sure you're exhausted."

"Can I sleep here tonight?" She asked and snuggled closer to her dad.

"Of course," Stephen told her. "And don't worry about anything, Rachel. Everything is going to turn out just fine. It may just take a bit longer that you imagined to reach your dreams of Broadway but you'll make it, bunny."

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut tight and listened to the sound of her dads heartbeat as she pressed her ear to his chest. She knew her fathers had faith in her and always had but she was definitely starting to doubt herself. As her hand clutched her stomach, she wondered if Broadway was still what she really wanted because lately she'd been dreaming of a life with Noah and this baby. That seemed a little more satisfying than a few silly Tony's.

*/*

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I've been having trouble working on all of my fics but I'm hoping to get most of them updated next weekend if not all of them. And on that note, if anyone wants to help (co-write, ideas, etc.) I'd be very grateful. At this point, I could use all the help I can get.

Also, I'm sure there were some mistakes in this, I read and re-read this several times but all the medications I'm on right now are making my head fuzzy so it's hard to concentrate. If there are any mistakes that are significant, please let me know.


	20. Chapter 20

Still don't own Glee.

*/*

It's crazy how happy they all are right now. Rachel's pretty sure this little bubble they have isn't going to last long but she's still going to enjoy their win. Even if she didn't get to sing a solo at National's, they're all in Chicago and she's going to make the best of it. They all sung their hearts out and they nabbed a decent trophy so everyone is happy.

They're crammed into chairs at two tables in the back of some restaurant Mr. Schue is treating them all to and no one is quiet except Rachel. She's perfectly content rubbing her stomach beside Noah as everyone chatters loudly. The more recent additions to New Directions, or the 'Newbies' as Puck calls them, are laughing together at the opposite end of the table while everyone else is talking back and forth about graduation coming up.

Rachel's excited that high school is coming to an end but it also means college is about to begin. Well, except for Puck, Rachel, Tina, Brittany, and Sam. Tina, Brittany, and Sam still have their senior year and Puck and Rachel are just kind of stuck in Lima. Surprisingly, Rachel's not nearly as bitter about deferring Julliard as she would have expected. She's been eerily calm the last few weeks but she's pretty sure that's only because she's been so busy with getting ready for National's. Just because she wasn't getting a solo didn't mean she wasn't giving her all in every number they all sang. And it didn't hurt that Puck got a solo for once. He sang the majority of Bon Jovi's 'Summertime' with Mercedes and Tine chipping in every one in a while. She's insanely happy for him because she knows he's part of the reason they placed so well.

She knows Noah's worried about her, though. He knows something is going on but she hasn't told him about Julliard yet. She just knows he'll be mad that she put it off but she also knows going to Julliard in the fall isn't realistic. She's having a baby, _Noah's baby,_ and they have to get ready for that. Her due date is looming, just a mere three and a half months away, and they haven't even discussed names or gotten any kind of supplies ready. They decided to wait until graduation is over to start getting ready for the baby. Besides, the money Puck's been saving up isn't much and Rachel doesn't really have the heart to tell him that the few thousand dollars he has scrounged up isn't going to last long.

She already started on a list and raising a child is expensive. There's a crib, diapers, clothes, check-ups, formula, bottles, and a bunch of other stuff she doesn't even want to think about. She's starting to wonder how all of this is going to work. Rachel knows she wants this, to raise this baby with Noah and have a family, but it's going to be hard, especially since they don't live together.

"You've been awfully quiet tonight," Puck's voice startles her but she smiles at him and shakes her head. "You okay?"

"I'm just thinking," She admits and ducks her head because they had agreed not to do this. Not to worry about money or the baby but she couldn't help it. "I do not doubt the decision to keep the baby," She assures him quickly when she sees the look on his face and is grateful their voices are hushed so no one else can hear. "But I'm just trying to be realistic about our money and our future, Noah. I don't want our baby to have to grow up without anything. I want him to have everything he asks for like I did. I'm just worried I won't be able to do that."

He nods slowly and Rachel can tell he's thinking about something. "I could sell my truck," He offers. "I know it's old but I just got it fixed up last year and I could probably sell it for a few thousand. And I have this ridiculous collection of baseball cards. It's worth a lot of money, Rach."

She shakes her head. "No, I don't want you to sell anything else. I already know you didn't buy your guitar back."

"Yes, I did," He counters. "I had it in the choir room with me the other day."

"No," She tells him. "That was a cheap knockoff of your guitar, Noah. It's not nearly as nice as the one you pawned."

"We needed the money," He says quietly.

"I know." She nods and squeezes his hand before smiling at him. She promised her dads she would wait to bring this up but she wants to make him feel better. "I have some good news, though. Daddy's assistant just got promoted and he needs a new one. I recommended you."

"I don't—" Puck starts to shake his head.

"Noah, it's perfect. Daddy is a music producer and if you got this job it would really help you get your foot in the door since I know this is the kind of thing you want to do in the future. And it's not a hand-out; you don't have the job yet. Daddy has interviews lined up next week and you'll have to go through the process just like everyone else."

"He'll be fair?" Puck asks.

"If anything, he'll be harsher on you," She tells him and grins. "Since, you know, you knocked up his little girl right under his nose."

Puck rolls his eyes and chuckles. "Are you really trying to pretend like I corrupted you?" He teases.

She leans over to kiss his cheek and sighs. "It pays well, Noah, better than the odd jobs you're working now. And I really think you'd enjoy it. Daddy just got this new client and this girl is amazing. Not as good as me of course, but still, she's good. You'd get to work in a real studio and everything."

"It sounds cool," He tells her honestly. "I'll think about it."

*/*

Rachel's glad to be home. Chicago is great but not everyone is so nice to her pregnant belly. She had to stick by Noah's side the whole time because she kept getting swallowed by crowds of people and knocked around. Puck blamed it on how short she is so she just swatted his arm and let him keep an eye on her. Apparently, Puck's a bit more protective of her since she's become pregnant. He didn't even like when some street performer talked to her. Rachel didn't really mind, though, because even though they haven't really put a label on this relationship they have, it's nice to see him jealous sometimes. Especially now that she's six and a half months pregnant and blown up like a water balloon. And it didn't hurt that Puck didn't even so much as glance at the slutty hostess at the restaurant Mr. Schue took them to last night. Rachel may have let him touch her boobs for a few extra minutes because of it.

She blames it on her pregnancy hormones. She's found it really hard lately to break up the hot make-out sessions she's been having with Puck. He's not complaining, especially since her boobs are almost twice as big at this point, and he'll take what he can get, even if it's just a few minutes, but he's a little wary of taking things any further than some under the shirt boob action.

It's not like Rachel can get pregnant again but she can tell Puck's been a little weird lately. She's pretty sure it's because her stomach is bigger because whenever they're fooling around, he makes her be on top and he always gets a little nervous when she guides his hands down to the top of her maternity jeans. She tries not to take it personally, but again, the hormones are raging at this point and she doesn't think it's going to hurt if they do a little heavy petting. Besides, every book Rachel's read says it is perfectly safe to have sex up until the due date. And since when does Puck turn does sex, like, ever? So, yea, she's taking it a little personally when he tells her to slow down.

She even checked with Dr. Turley to make absolutely sure but Puck's not buying it. So that's why she's gripping his hand and dragging him into the doctor's office.

"This is pointless, Rachel," Puck groans loudly after the nurse leaves the small exam room. "I don't understand—"

"Sex is perfectly normal," Rachel bites out but doesn't stop talking even when Dr. Turley walks into the room. "And I don't see why you have to fight me on this. I mean, if you don't want to have sex with me, that's all you have to say. I won't be upset."

"Fuck, Rach." He drags his hands down his face. He definitely doesn't want to have this conversation in front of Rachel's doctor. "You know it's not that. We fool around all the time."

Dr. Turley raises her eyebrows and watches at the two teenagers argue in front of her.

"Every time I even suggest we start to undress, Noah, you make up some excuse about how you're too tired." Rachel rolls her eyes. "It's perfectly understandable if you think my body is disgusting now that I have _stretch marks_, but you don't have to lie about it," Her voice gets louder towards the end of the sentence as she fights back the tears but a few escape anyway.

Puck's eyes dart to the doctor, pleading for some interference but Dr. Turley just looks amused. "I don't think your body is disgusting," He tells Rachel quietly but the smaller girl refuses to look up at him, and, instead, focuses on the hem of her maternity shirt. "You're fucking gorgeous, even more now that you have… stretch marks, but," He sighs, searching for the right words and Dr. Turley chooses that moment to step in.

"I think Noah is having some doubts about how safe sex is now that you're so clearly pregnant," The doctor offers and Rachel sniffles.

"Yea," Puck lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "I mean, what if I squash the baby or something. My Aunt went into early labor during sex."

While that may be a legitimate concern," Dr. Turley tells the two of them. "I don't think it will be a problem in Rachel's case. This has been a very healthy pregnancy so far and I don't see any reason to halt sexual activity. As long as you choose a position that is comfortable for the two of you, I think the baby will be perfectly fine. In fact, sex may do the baby good. A happy mommy means a happy baby."

"Right," Puck realizes this wasn't turning out exactly the way he had hoped. "Doesn't sex like, speed up your heart or something? Would that affect the baby?"

"Just as long as Rachel isn't overexerting herself, everything should be perfectly fine," Dr. Turley adds.

Rachel lifts her head. "So sex is a go?"

Dr. Turley chuckles. "Yes."

Rachel tries not to grin so widely as they leave the doctor's office but she can't help but be happy about her victory. And Puck only looks slightly defeated on the drive home so she takes that as a good sign.

*/*

"It's a brochure," Santana explains from her spot on the couch beside Brittany. "You know, for Lamaze classes. My Aunt took them a few years ago when she was pregnant with my nephew. She said they were great."

"What the hell are Lamaze classes?" Puck asks and peeks over Rachel's shoulder to see the brochure.

"It's to help us get ready for the baby," Rachel explains and smiles at Santana. "Thanks so much. I know how expensive these classes can be."

"Don't worry about it. I charged it to my credit card. My daddy will pay it off next month." Santana waves it off and waits for Rachel to move to the next gift.

Puck just sighs because he still doesn't understand why they have to take classes and shifts in his spot behind Rachel. She's sitting between his legs on the floor and his arms are wrapped around her stomach while she peels the paper back from some breast pump Quinn bought her. He doesn't understand what the hell that's about, either.

His eyes look around the room to see he's really the only guy in the room. Well, besides Kurt and Rachel's dads. He wasn't sure how he got roped into coming to Rachel's baby shower but she said she needed help putting up decorations and it's kind of hard to say no when she's looking at you with those huge eyes. And if the eyes didn't make him say yes, the way she was rubbing her stomach definitely would have made him cave. He doesn't really mind, though because he gets to bury his face in the crook of Rachel's neck and inhale the scent of the strawberry shampoo she uses.

His chin is resting on her shoulder now, scoping out each gift she gets and he's kind of confused about the tube of cream she's studying right now.

"Nipple cream?" His eyes widen and he looks over to Rachel's dads for help but they look just as clueless as he does. "What's that for?"

Quinn laughs since she's the one that got the cream for Rachel and is apparently the only one that knows what the cream is for.

"It's for when you breastfeed," Quinn explains. "I never had to with Beth but I did have to pump in the hospital and it's kind of irritating to your skin.

"So she rubs it on her…?" Puck smirks and leans down to her ear again. "I could help with that," He says low enough her dads won't hear. They probably wouldn't appreciate that and Puck doesn't really want to piss Russell off again after the two are just starting to get along.

"I'm sure this will come in handy." Rachel grins and elbows Puck in the ribs. "Is that all the gifts?"

"One more," Stephen stands up with a huge smile on his face. "It's upstairs."

Puck gets excited for the first time that night because this gift was from him. Well, partly from him. He's been working on this all weekend with Russell and Stephen while Kurt and Brittany kept Rachel busy and out of the house.

"Are you ready, Bunny?" Stephen asks when he pauses at the guest bedroom door. "Puck, your father, and I have been planning this for weeks so I really hope you like it."

Rachel looks up at Puck and purses her lips, trying to figure out what the surprise was, and then lets him lead her into the bedroom.

"Oh my," Kurt is the first to speak when he sees the zoo-themed room. "This is better than I imagined when I gave you guys the color scheme."

"Russell painted the elephant, the giraffe, and the lion," Puck tells Rachel. "Stephen did the tan backdrop and the trees. I painted the vines and the monkeys at the top."

"And Noah helped me put together all the furniture. He's actually quite skilled with his hands," Russell adds and no one misses the praise in his voice. "He's going to come over next weekend and watch some of my old videos of when I played football in college."

Rachel rolls her eyes. "My son is not playing football so you can get that idea out of your head."

"Did I say anything about him playing football?" Russell tried to look innocent.

"I know how you think," She grins and looks around the room some more before turning back to Puck. "What about Bartholomew?"

Puck snorts and shakes his head. "No way, babe."

"Still haven't decided on a name yet, huh?" Mercedes chuckles.

"Every time I come up with a good name Noah shoots it down," Rachel wrinkles up her nose.

"I had some good ideas."

"You wanted to name our baby Axel!" Rachel glares at him.

"It's Jewish!" Puck retorts with a laugh. "Fine, we'll talk about this later."

But Rachel has to have the last word and quickly adds, "Barnaby?"

*/*

A/N: So I didn't forget about this, I've just been really busy. I walked today! Well, actually it was more of me just standing by my hospital bed with a walker since my left leg is still in a full cast but still, it counts.

Not sure why but I've had an easier time working on this fic than my others but I will eventually get around to forcing myself to write on them, too.

Also, I think I've asked this before but does anyone have any name suggestions for our little Pucklebaby? And is anyone else ready to meet little baby Puckerman yet? I feel like this fic has been dragged on forever. I'm planning on wrapping it up in about six more chapters. The last chapter was very important in the ending of this fic (hint, hint). But don't worry, I've already got ideas for a potential sequel.

**Next: Graduation, Puck's interview, and Puck finds out about Julliard.**


	21. Chapter 21

I don't own Glee or its characters.

*/*

"Why do you want this job, Mr. Puckerman?" Russell Berry asks and shifts slightly in his leather chair.

Puck isn't going to lie. He's pretty intimidated by this whole interview and it doesn't help that he has Rachel's dad across from him, knowing full when that Puck's been balls deep in his daughter.

"I uh…" Puck clears his throat loudly and runs his hand over his mohawk. "I honestly don't know, Sir."

"You don't know why you want the job?" Russell questions. "Or you don't have a clue why you're even here? I think you're going to have to do a lot better than that, Noah. That is, if you really want this job. My daughter spent all of dinner last night gushing about how great with music you were and how passionate you were to get into this business. You aren't really showing much enthusiasm, Noah."

Puck sighs and leans forward in his chair. "Honestly, Sir, I'm exhausted right now. I spent all weekend alternating between shifts at Sheets N' Things, Cracker Barrel, and the Minute Mart in town. I haven't slept since Thursday night when Rachel called me to do a late night run to that 24/7 kosher Chinese restaurant. I'm not complaining and I don't mind doing whatever the hell Rachel wants because she's having my baby. And by some miracle she actually believes in me. She believes I'm going to be a great father to our baby and she believes I'm good enough for her. But I'm tired all the time because babies are expensive and we don't have any money. I don't want to ask Ma or you and Stephen for any money so I have to work all the time."

Russell leans back in his chair and narrows his eyes at Puck, watching the young man rant in front of him.

"I barely see Rachel anymore unless we're at school and I'm sleeping through most of my classes because it's the only time I have to sleep. I don't want to be your assistant, Mr. Berry, or anyone's assistant for that matter. I like being my own boss and I hate people standing over my shoulder all the time. But if taking this job means I might get a few minutes with Rachel every now and then, I'll take it. I'll do whatever I have to for this job because I need it, Mr. Berry. I guess_ that's_ why I want this job."

"You care about my daughter?" Russell narrows his eyes a little more.

Puck nods quickly and wipes his hands on his jeans. "Very much, Sir."

"What makes you think you aren't good enough for Rachel?"

"I don't think it's a secret that I was in a situation very similar to this one just a few years ago, Mr. Berry. And I know you know about the slushies and how I used to be to Rachel. There's a reason people call me a Lima Loser."

Russell nods slowly and takes a few seconds to collect his thoughts. "If my daughter had heard what you just said, Noah, she would have kicked your ass. You're no Lima Loser, Mr. Puckerman. That's one thing Rachel is very adamant about. Yes, Stephen and I know about the slushies and the mean words and mocking… but we also know about how happy she is when you're around. We know she can't help but smile every time someone even mentions your name. We know you're good enough for our daughter. You wouldn't be in this office if I didn't think you were. It seems you're the only one that thinks otherwise."

Puck swallows the lump in his throat and grins slowly. "Does this mean I got the job?"

Russell smiles as well and says, "Rachel's making your congratulatory dinner tonight. Why don't you invite your mom and sister to come as well? I'll see you tonight, Mr. Puckerman."

*/*

"I got the fucking job," Puck says as soon as he's safely in Rachel's room, with her door shut and locked for a little extra privacy.

She turns away from the bed, a little surprised to see him, and frowns. "You aren't supposed to be here. I'm wrapping up my gift to you so… so close your eyes or turn around!" She huffs loudly and tries to cover whatever is half-wrapped on her bed. "Sometimes, Noah Puckerman…" She trails off when Puck turns back towards her door and she rushes to finish her surprise. "Was Dad nice to you?"

"Yea, actually," Puck tells her with his back still to her. "I start next week."

He hears her shove whatever it was under her bed and then she's walking towards him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her cheek into his back. "I'm so proud of you, Noah," She whispers the words and he twists so he's facing her. "You're going to love this job; I just know it. But you really do need to do some research on my Dad's studio. He's going to be working you as much as possible and you don't want to seem like you have no idea what you're doing."

"Yea, I get right on that," He teases and leads her back against the bed, slowly lowering her down until he's hovering over her. "Where are your dads?"

"Dad doesn't usually leave his office until around five and Daddy has a day off so he's probably doing laps in the pool right now." She tilts her head back to look towards the window. "What did you have in mind? You do remember we have our first birthing class at two, right?"

"Of course, baby," He sounds a bit like he's just humoring her, but she can't find it in her to care.

She knows he's still a little worried about having sex with the baby still in her belly, but that didn't mean Noah isn't willing to get them both off in other ways. She has to admit Noah is quite skilled with both his hands and his mouth.

Puck figures they have at least forty-five minutes before Rachel shoves him away and freaks out about being late to their first class.

*/*

"Aren't you excited, Noah?" Rachel asks. "I think we're a little behind on starting the classes because Santana's Aunt started her classes when she was just twenty-five weeks along and I'm twenty-nine. But we have plenty of time before the baby comes, or at least, I hope we do. I spoke with the instructor yesterday and she says it's perfectly normal for first-time parents to be behind." Puck wants to interrupt her and say he's done these classes before with Quinn, but decides it would be in his best interest to keep his mouth closed. "The instructor, her name in Mrs. Benson, is really sweet. She says that these sessions will help us prepare for the birth and she even offers a class for what to do after the baby arrives! Isn't that great?"

"Totally." He fights back the urge to roll his eyes and leads her down another hallway.

"Plus, we'll be able to make friends with other pregnant couples," She blows out a breath. "Santana and Quinn are great company, but I'd like to make friends with another woman who is pregnant. You know, so we can compare notes and make sure everything is normal. You can even hang out with the other dads."

Puck smiles a little at that for the mere fact that he loves whenever Rachel calls him a dad. It makes his chest swell a little. "That'd be cool."

Rachel walks into the large room first, Puck not far behind, and all eyes turn to them. It doesn't seem as though Mrs. Benson was there yet, but most of the couples had already taken their spots on the floor. There was only one mat left and Rachel grabs Noah's hand before leading him over.

Puck feels out of place among all of the couples since he and Rachel are by far the youngest ones there. Rachel doesn't even seem fazed by it though, and jumps right into an intense conversation with the woman next to her about breast soreness and some kind of discharge Puck doesn't really care to hear about.

"First kid?" The man next to him asks Puck quietly. "This is me and my wife's first." He gestures to the woman in front of him that was in deep conversation with Rachel.

"Yea, uh, it's my first baby with Rachel," Puck replies. "It's a boy."

"I'm Kevin," The man shakes Puck's hand. "And this is my wife, Sarah." The woman halts her conversation with Rachel long enough to acknowledge Puck and then jumps right back in with something about nursing bras. Puck doesn't even try to follow along with that conversation, choosing instead to bring up last night baseball game with Kevin.

*/*

Their first birthing class is pretty low-key, mainly just the instructor welcoming everyone and all the couples introducing themselves and all that boring shit. But Rachel enjoys it so Puck smiles along and lets her have a good time.

Rachel exchanges phone numbers with Sarah and both the couples are supposed to start little double dates. Puck isn't so sure about all that, but Rachel assures him that it will mainly be Kevin and Puck hanging out in Kevin's 'man cave' while Sarah and Rachel talk upstairs. Puck just assumes they'll be swapping stories about baby outfits and names or something. He really doesn't care all that much if he's being honest. Besides, Rachel's pretty much called dibs on buying all the baby supplies. Puck's pretty sure it's only because Rachel thinks he'll mess up if he goes to the store.

But now, he just wants to get back to Rachel's house so she can start on that dinner she promised him. He texted his mom earlier, letting her know to be at the Berry house around six with Becca.

"What are you making for dinner?" He asks as he pulls into her driveway.

"It's a surprise," She smiles over at him. "My dads thought up this plan to distract you with this big elaborate speech about parenthood. I just told them to put on some movie with lots of explosions and violence instead."

Puck chuckles and leans over to kiss her lips chastely. "Thanks, babe."

"By the way," She tells him as they're walking into the house. "My dads want to set up a schedule soon. You know, for the baby. I thought we'd do it tonight since your mom is going to be here. I know it's soon, but if we do it now it will be one less thing we'll have to worry about when the baby arrives."

"What kind of schedule?"

"Well, we won't have to worry about who will watch the baby during the day since we won't be in school then, but we'll have to discuss who will keep the baby on what weekends and all that. I'm not sure what my dads had in mind, but it shouldn't be too hard to get all this squared away." She shrugs and pushes him into the den with her dads while she moves to the kitchen to get started on dinner.

*/*

Puck really doesn't like how the conversation is going right now. Rachel's dads are basically saying the baby isn't allowed to be alone with Noah at all. Or rather, he's not allowed around the baby without proper supervision. And they think the baby shouldn't stay overnight at the Puckerman's house, either. That's shit isn't kosher. Especially since Rachel's sitting there, her head hung low as she bits her bottom lip nervously, not saying a word.

"Now we aren't saying that baby can't come over to visit at your house, Noah," Russell tells him. "We just want your mother to be there as well. In the same room if that's possible."

"I don't understand," Puck shakes his head. "Are you saying you don't trust me with my baby?"

"We're just a little wary leaving you alone with a child. It's a big responsibility. What if you get distracted and the baby gets hurt? Don't you remember what happened when you were babysitting for Mrs. Cooper down the street?"

"The kid was fine," Puck defends himself since no one else is speaking up for him.

"He fell out of a window!" Stephen's eyes widen dramatically and Puck now knows where Rachel got her dramatic side.

"He fell two feet into some bushes!" Puck rolls his eyes and looks to his mom for support.

"Noah was much younger then," Debra tells Stephen and Russell. "He helped that gentile he impregnated a few years ago babysit and he did very well."

"I think you just proved our point for us, Debra," Russell sighs. "Noah is a bit immature. I just don't think it's a good idea if the baby sleeps over. You can have the baby during the day as much as you'd like, but I have to put my foot down on anytime after dark."

"This is bullshit!" Puck clenches his teeth and Rachel's head shoots up to stare at him. "This is my baby and I have a say in this, too. Rachel and I will figure something out. We'll set up a schedule and you three," he glowers at his mom, Russell, and Stephen, "will stay out of it."

Rachel looks around the table quickly, her eyes flying from face to face, hoping everyone keeps their calm. "I think," Rachel says and all eyes turn to her, "Noah has a point. He is the father of this baby. Dad, Daddy, I know you're worried, but Noah and I promised to see this through. If he and I can't set up a simple schedule without your help, how can we raise a baby on our own? I'm not saying you three can't be involved because Noah and I are going to need you, but we have to do some things without you breathing down our necks."

Puck lets a slow breath out through his nose and nods at Rachel, silently thanking her. She stands then, holding her hand out to Noah and when he takes it, she leads him upstairs to her room without another word to their parents.

Becca clears her throat loudly and successfully gains the adults' attention. "More mashed potatoes, please."


End file.
